Descent Into The Dark
by Souderwan
Summary: Prequel to Fall of the Sith. 300 years before TPM, and shortly before becoming a staple on the Jedi Council, Yoda is a very different Jedi. While visiting his home world, a strange experience in the Force leads him on a quest that could cost him his soul.
1. Chapter 1, A Life Worth Saving Part 1

**Descent Into The Dark **

**Timeframe**: Approximately 300 years before TPM  
**Characters**: Yoda, OCs  
**Genre**: Character Study, Action, Drama  
**Keywords**: EU/AU  
**Summary**: Shortly before Yoda becomes a permanent fixture on the Jedi Council, he is a middle-aged Jedi Master in the prime of his life. Many of the rules that the Jedi live by have not been instituted or are not enforced. Yoda is a free-lance Jedi who visits his home world regularly. He knows about the dark side only from his studies of the Jedi Archives and his early training. This is a story of how Yoda comes to learn the power of the dark side. It's a story of loss. It's a story of redemption. It's a story about the power of fear.  
**Disclaimer**: Lucasfilm owns all the rights to Star Wars. I don't. No infringement is intended or profit to be made by me.

**Chapter 1**

**A Life Worth Saving, Part I**

**  
**Freedom.

Lithe, compact muscles pulled and stretched in perfect synchrony beneath the green leather that had been baked to a perfect dark hue under the binary stars over the previous week. Among his species, he was the epitome of the physical specimen. His point seven meter frame, though diminutive to most other species in the galaxy, was above average on his world. His large pointed ears, now set slightly back to support the flow of his movements, were extremely appealing to the opposite sex.

Fine beads of sweat were coalescing to form rivers of coolness that flowed through the sinewy channels of his well-formed physique, only to fall to the soft earth, discarded and forgotten as he raced beneath the hot suns. Each ridge in his arms was like a finely made rope of strength. His phenomenal physical stamina was obvious when one saw the shirtless creature's abdominal muscles flex and strain with his graceful gait. His large, bulbous eyes were striking emerald pools of serenity that seemed to have infinite depth. And atop this magnificent creature's impressive form, like a crown worn by the great kings of millennia past, was a flowing mane of hair that billowed behind him in a sea of glittering silver.

This was Jedi Master Yoda.

Yoda ran with a speed that few of the best athletes on his planet could ever hope to achieve. Three pointed toes on each foot alternately gripped and released the earth to propel the Jedi Master forward with such regularity that the motion itself became a symphony. He loved the feel of the earth beneath his bare feet. He loved the gentle sound they made as gravity demanded that he not fly from the surface of the planet each time he left it.

The wind was his friend. It brought soothing coolness across his powerful frame. The more rapidly he dashed, the sweeter the gentle song of the breeze became to his voluminous ears.

As he raced beneath the morning sky, the twin suns rising slowly above the tree-shrouded mountains ahead, Yoda was at peace. He could feel everything in the Force. The ground welcomed his every step with the warm embrace of a long-forgotten lover. The trees sang songs of praise to his every stride while providing him slight protection from the stars' powerful rays. The rocks sat solemnly in awe of his unyielding will.

The wind was his friend. But the Force was his ally.

The river ahead was nearly a kilometer across. It roared with turbulent waters that crashed down the two hundred meter waterfall in a torrent of white-foam spray. Yoda surveyed the scene with a wry smile. His morning jog was not complete. No small trickle of water was going to stop him. Not today. Not ever.

Yoda prided himself on his reluctance to call on the Force except when necessary. Far too often, he had seen his fellow Jedi use the Force for such casual things as lifting heavy objects rather than relying on their physical strength. It made the Jedi weak, he believed. To Yoda, the Force was a friend you called upon to help you achieve what you could not alone. If one abused that friendship, then that friend may fail to lend a hand when assistance was most needed.

For the first time in days, Yoda decided to call on his friend's aid. He visualized the trees on the other side of the flowing water. He extended his senses to feel the flow of the river. He searched the waters for purchase and found the group of rocks midstream with practiced ease. Calmly, the Jedi Master breathed deeply, preparing to vault himself in a Force-aided leap atop the tiny island.

He was now rapidly approaching the bank of the river. Unconcerned with his proximity to the deluge, he drew the Force into him and wrapped it around himself like a warm blanket. He reveled in the tranquility. He smiled broadly with genuine joy as he reached the precipice and began his flight.

"Master Yoda! Master Yoda! Master Yoda!"

The blanket of tranquility was suddenly ripped from the Jedi Master.

Yoda abruptly found himself tumbling gracelessly into the rushing stream. As the water engulfed him, Yoda mused at the providence in his decision to go without his normal Jedi attire on his morning run. Slightly annoyed, he extended his arms and legs and began his swim back to shore in graceful strides that would make the famous Mon Calamari swimmers applaud.

Within moments, Yoda stood on the bank of the river, his hair matted like silver clumps of vine across his tree-green chest and arms. Staring out from beneath the argent bangs that hung in his face, Yoda searched for the intruder that had dared to interrupt his morning meditations. He had the uneasy feeling that he knew only too well who it would be.

Running toward him, at less than fifty meters away, was the only person Yoda knew that managed to find a way to aggravate him at every turn. In point of fact, the creature was not so much running as he was feverishly hobbling at his best possible speed using a small twist of wood as an aid.

Yoda felt a frown draw itself across his face like a lightsaber through duracrete.

Calling on the Force, Yoda settled into the calm it brought him and casually began to pull back his hair. In the several additional moments it took the ancient creature to cross the divide between them, Yoda retrieved a small band from his pocket and tied his mane into its customary ponytail.

By the time the half-meter-tall elfin creature had arrived, Yoda was calmly standing on the river bank with his hands folded behind his back as if he had been waiting for the newcomer's arrival all day.

"Master Yoda!" the creature panted desperately, leaning heavily on the stick as if its strength was all that kept him on his feet. "Master…Yoda…!"

"Hear you I do!" Yoda snapped, far more harshly than he intended. He considered apologizing but knew that the offense was already lost on the bombastic politician. "My name, yell no more! Or wake the forest, you will!"

Yoda laughed to himself as the interloper scanned the woods with widening eyes as if expecting some dark horror to rip through the trees and devour them both. The Jedi Master decided to do nothing to assuage the annoying old creature's unwarranted fears.

Instead, Yoda passively watched the politician frantically try to catch his breath. Yoda had often found that he never really mastered Jedi patience when it came to dealing with the unusually diminutive migru.

"What do you want, Taru?" Yoda said finally. "Interrupt my peace lightly, you should not. On fire, the village is not, hmm?"

A look of shock erupted on Taru's face followed by the apparently slow realization that Yoda did not really believe that the village was indeed ablaze. Indignation replaced shock.

"_Minister_ Taru, call me you should!" the politician replied. His face grew serious and he pointed the piece of wood at Yoda. He seemed to consider poking Yoda with it for a brief moment and then apparently thought better of it. Instead, the point stopped just shy of touching the Jedi Master's taut stomach. "A respect for authority, always lacked, you have!"

"Perhaps…," Yoda replied calmly. "But answer my question, you have not."

All outrage seemed to leave Taru as he was suddenly alight with glee.

"Yes!" he shouted. "Forgot, I did! The celebration! Started it has!" When Yoda didn't seem to join him in his excitement, a look of exasperation came over Taru. "_The_ celebration, Master Yoda. Forget, you could not! In your honor, it is, after all!"

Yoda tried his best to stop imagining what Taru would look like suspended from a branch of one of the taller trees along the path to the village. He considered Taru for a long moment before answering.

Yoda had not forgotten at all. In fact, the Jedi Master had been steeling himself for the unpleasant business that he had been hoping he would have managed to avoid. After what likely seemed an eternity to Taru, Yoda nodded in resignation.

"Forget, I did not," Yoda answered somewhat testily. "Hoped, I did, that if arrived I did not, go away this nonsense would."

Taru burst into a series of cackles that only managed to irritate Yoda further. He patiently waited for the laughter to subside. When it became clear that this was unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future, Yoda interrupted.

"What so funny, you find?"

Taru suddenly stopped laughing and blinked in surprise at Yoda with bulbous brown eyes. "Kidding, you were not?" he asked innocently.

Realizing that it was best to move things along, Yoda forced a smile. "Too easy, you are you. Join you, I will. Get this over with."

Taru immediately began to giggle again as he turned toward the beaten path back to the village.

"Minister Taru," the old politician corrected. "Remember this, you must, when meet the other Elders you do."

Yoda shook his head resignedly and tried his best not to frown.

It was going to be a long day.

**

* * *

**

The music and cheers reverberated through the trees in a harmony full of joy and celebration. Hundreds of migru were gathered in the village square, standing on either side of the main dirt road yelling and screaming with glee as the parade of younglings marched by in perfect lockstep.

The younglings' faces were rigid with intensity. They didn't smile. They all wore the same garb—dark brown strips of cloth with a hole for their heads and a strip of maroon vine-chord tied around their waists. All were shoeless, as was customary of the migru and they all had their hair tied in a tight topknot. They were the very model of simplicity. There was no individuality evident—no necklaces or trinkets; no unique tying of the topknot; no special way of wearing their overcloaks; and no variation in facial expression. They were the best of the migru younglings.

Yoda sighed and stifled a yawn.

Each of them was auditioning for the role of Yoda's personal assistant. Every year, for the past two thousand years, a new honoree was selected by the Tribal Council as the Migru of the Year. Nominally, this individual was chosen from among the top political and economic powerhouses in the community. As somewhat of a prize, one youngling was given the opportunity to become that great migru's aide-de-camp. With this selection, the youngling would usually be groomed for the enviable opportunity to become a cleric in the Tribal Council. A mere hundred years of dedicated effort after that might earn that youngling an actual seat on the Council—the highest honor a migru could possibly hope to attain.

The tradition was the most anticipated event on the forest planet of Migruna III. Migru from all over the planet traveled for days to be at The Choosing. Prime Village was always abuzz during this time of year and the local vendors worked doubly hard to capitalize on the influx of migru visitors.

The most popular item for sale was, of course, the stilt. Almost a thousand years prior, Yoda had learned, one very enterprising migru farmer had built an empire from the sale of stilts. It seemed that his fellow migru were rather fond of playing tall for a while. At the parade, as many migru walked on stilts as didn't.

The Prime Village Drummers pounded the drums incessantly and the String Group plucked away in perfect unison on their three-stringed vonglen. It was all giving Yoda a headache. His chin was resting on his right hand, his elbow firmly planted on the arm of his wicker chair that was almost at the same height as the Prime Minister's. Yoda struggled to keep the lack of interest he felt from showing. He wasn't being very successful.

"Pretend, at least, you could," Prime Minister Gandol whispered to Yoda, leaning down. It was hardly necessary since Yoda's large ears could hear him whispering from a hundred meters away. "For you, this celebration is, after all. The Choosing, a great experience it can be. When your age, I was, great pleasure I took in selecting an apprentice." Yoda turned sharply and glared at Gandol. Gandol simply smiled at Yoda's reaction. "Aide. Aide. I know, I know. Worry too much, you Jedi do, about words. Focus on meaning, you should. The essence of communication, this is."

Yoda's softened and a smile tugged on the corners of his mouth, in spite of himself.

"Wise, you are," Yoda grinned. "A great Jedi, you would have made." After noting Gandol smiling at the comment, Yoda sat straight in his chair and faced Gandol with a mock-stern look. "For you only, pretend, I will."

With that, Yoda looked out into the crowd of younglings who were marching along the main road, about to perform The Passing ceremony. Any moment now, the entire brigade of children would turn their heads simultaneously toward the Delegation of the Chosen that was made up of previous honorees and members of the Tribal Council and they all sat stodgily on large platform built into the ancient tree in the very center of Prime Village.

The main road passed by the Gathering Tree and every road in the village connected to it. In fact, the entire network or roads and byways on the planet were all connected in some way.

Yoda smiled at the thought.

No migru lived on the other large landmass that comprised the bulk of dry land on Migruna III. Millennia ago, they had explored the other continent in the hopes of discovering new resources and possibly even undiscovered migru. All they had found was death. Most of the explorers died during the trip itself, which took several months in the wooden ships they had built. The rest died when the predatory Astaaks—a large carnivorous reptile—descended on them. Migru bedtime stories almost always involved some fantastic tale about escaping the jaws of a hungry Astaak.

Of course, using the available technology they received through trade with other planets, the migru had been able to explore the region safely and found little of value. Although some migru on the Council recommended exterminating the Astaak threat and settling on the other continent, it had been decided that this would go against some of the most fundamental beliefs of the migru.

The migru believed only in killing to save a life.

They lived uncomplicated lives, converting the forest trees into abodes for shelter and farming those very same trees for their sustenance. While the migru seemed to be willing to eat just about anything, they particularly enjoyed the delicious taste produced from the pungent sulfur-smelling boiled bark of the bending tree, which got its name from its tendency to bow its trunk almost to the ground during the winter months.

Wealth was measured in terms of artificial trinkets owned. This had not always been the case, of course. After the visitors arrived in their shiny metal ships and wanted to barter, however, the migru were hooked. They were intensely fond of small lights and enjoyed shining them at night. The space travelers tried desperately to trade using what Yoda referred to as "credits" but the migru had no use for them. As such, the space travelers settled on providing new and better shiny trinkets for the migru businessmen. Every migru worked hard to own a glittering bulb of some sort—preferably one that changed colors. Oddly, for reasons that the migru could never really understand, the space travelers visited frequently and were only interested in the useless green stones that the migru often found near the mountains.

This worked out well for the migru, who learned how to use some of the metal tools they received in trade to mine more and more of these stones from the mountainside. The vast majority of migru worked in the mines. The rest farmed the trees for all kinds of tasty bugs that were quite popular with bending tree bark.

Yoda cringed inside as the entire brigade suddenly snapped all their heads in perfect unison and looked directly at him. Even though he had prepared himself for the event, he still found it immensely disturbing. He wasn't exactly sure what it was that bothered him the most—the fact that this was all being done for him, or the fact that they thought that this was something he'd find impressive.

Jedi celebrated individuality and Yoda was no exception. The idea that he would have to select one of them to work for him for a year was too distressing to even truly consider. But he had given his word that he would play along. When all their heads snapped forward again as they completed their march, Yoda shivered with disgust.

He was just about to break down and tell the Prime Minister that he just couldn't go through with this when he caught a small irregularity in the brigade out of the corner of his eye. A youngling, no older than sixty, Yoda surmised, was jumping up and down near the back line of the unit instead of marching along. She seemed to be trying to see over the heads of the slightly taller candidates in front of her.

Yoda stared at her with wide eyes when she seemed to notice he was looking at her and she broke into a massive grin. She began waving at him enthusiastically. Yoda frowned when he realized that his hand seemed to be waving back at her entirely on its own. He quickly pulled his arm down to his lap and looked around uncomfortably to see if he was noticed. Satisfied that he hadn't been, Yoda looked back at the young girl and noticed that she continued to hop up and down but now she was looking ahead and seemed to be jumping to the beat of the drums.

"A perfect choice for you, she would be," Gandol's deep baritone whispered next to Yoda's ear. "Full of energy, she is, but very trainable." Yoda looked at Gandol in surprise. Gandol seemed to laugh at this. "Become Prime Minister by accident, did you think? See everything I do. My gift, that is. Call her for interview, I will."

Yoda marveled yet again at the eleven-hundred-year-old Prime Minister who didn't look a day over eight hundred. Yoda had met Gandol nearly five hundred years before, when Yoda first returned to Migruna to learn about his planet.

Gandol was just a Minister then but he had clearly been the most intelligent migru on the Council. He was the only one who didn't try to barter for Yoda's lightsaber and had taken the time to show Yoda around the planet and teach him their customs. He even explained to Yoda how the two Jedi Masters had come to the Council and requested permission to take him to Coruscant for training. When Yoda had asked about his parents, Gandol had been gentle in explaining how they had died in one of the first mine collapses. He even showed Yoda the location where their ashes had been spread. The Jedi Master had never forgotten Gandol and counted him as the only real friend outside of the Order he had in the galaxy.

"Thank you, old friend," Yoda replied.

"Of course, Yoda," Gandol replied. The brigade had finally come to a halt and the younglings spread out into a large circle. All the spectators immediately gathered around the circle, most of them on stilts. Others climbed the nearest trees and looked on in anticipation.

"What new nonsense, Gandol, have in store for me, do you?"

Gandol stared at Yoda with obviously genuine surprise and blinked several times before apparently coming to realization that Yoda really had no idea.

"Forget, did you?" Gandol grinned mischievously.

"Forget what?"

"An exhibition, promised us you did!" Gandol announced.

The memory rushed back to Yoda and he found himself smacking his head with the palm of his hand. "Joking I was!" Yoda tried to explain. "Against Jedi teaching it is!"

"Tell them." Gandol pointed at the gathered crowd. "Waiting on you, they are. Understand they will, I'm sure."

Yoda noticed the impatient looks on all the migru gathered. Without question, the most fascinating light on the entire planet was attached securely to Yoda's waist. They were all waiting to see Yoda ignite his blade and perform for them. The moment Yoda began to consider addressing the crowd and apologizing profusely, he immediately had the disturbing feeling that should he do so, he might find himself fighting for his life against a very angry mob.

"Do it, I will…" Yoda said finally through gritted teeth.

"Excellent!" Gandol grinned.

Yoda stood up and walked to the edge of the platform, twenty meters above the ground.

As he leapt from the tree, he yelled back at Gandol. "But like it, I will not!"


	2. Chapter 1, A Life Worth Saving Part 2

**Chapter 1**

**A Life Worth Saving, Part II**

Yoda's smile broadened as he walked briskly toward the gathered throng. Every eye was watching him intently and silence washed over the crowd as he approached the circle of younglings who stood in four perfect concentric lines centered on an imaginary point, waiting patiently for the Jedi Master's arrival.

Yoda's eyes darted about, searching the crowd for the youngling migru female he had seen, but she was out of sight. He was stunned to find a wave of disappointment at her apparent absence wash over him. Not knowing what to make of it, Yoda shrugged inwardly and continued toward the ring of adorers.

When Yoda drew within ten meters of the circumference of the ring, the gathered younglings parted in perfect militarized synchrony to create a passageway for him. He was duly flattered by the reverence offered him, but was also viscerally disturbed. Resisting the shudder that threatened to spread through his body, he continued his casual gait as if nothing was amiss.

Just prior to crossing the imaginary threshold of younglings, a ten-year old migru boy who had broken through the lines of migru that had gathered and was standing calmly just to the right of his path caught his eye.

Yoda raised an eyebrow.

He looked at the child sternly but smiled inwardly at the youngling's audacity. The Jedi Master approached him slowly and noted with some consternation that the boy never averted his gaze. When Yoda stopped in front of the youngling, he noticed that the child had not reached the age of growing and was still only about half of his mature height. The boy's eyes were alight with admiration and respect, but Yoda also caught a slight glimpse of defiance as well. As Yoda opened himself to the Force he was surprised to find that the Force was stronger with the youngling than with most other migru. The boy was certainly not as strong in the Force as Yoda was, but he had more potential than many in the Order. Yoda was yet again amazed at how many Force-sensitive creatures existed in the galaxy that somehow managed to escape the watchful eyes of the Jedi Seekers. He wasn't sure if he was happy or sad for the boy. Perhaps, both.

Yoda knelt on one knee before the boy.

"Your name," Yoda said.

The boy seemed to be waiting for Yoda to continue but Yoda just stared into the youngling's bulbous brown eyes that were characteristically large on his tanned greenish-brown face.

"Broga," the migru child replied finally, raising his chin slightly as if in response to a challenge.

Yoda nodded, committing the name to memory but saying nothing for a long moment. "Your parents, here, they are?" he glanced over the boy's head then looked back at him. "Know, do they, that in my path you stand?"

Broga seemed to ignore the question completely "Visit us, your Jedi friends did. To take me to Coruscant, they wanted. But love me too much, my parents did."

Yoda's eyes widened at the insinuation. It was one that had passed through his mind more times than he could count. It was one that haunted Yoda the day he asked Gandol about his parents. _Every Jedi was a child that was abandoned by his parents._ Yoda's eyes narrowed into slits as he considered the child.

"Perhaps…" Yoda replied, at length. "…But a dangerous thing sometimes, love can be. Selfish, it can make you. Keep for yourself what you want, make you it can. Forget to do what is best, many people in love do."

_Have you ever been in love?_

Yoda drew his eyebrows together as he stared at the child in confusion. He had heard the question but the boy's lips had not moved. The voice was unfamiliar but it was accompanied by a visceral cold Yoda had never felt. It was not the cold one feels from the gust of wind as someone opens the door on a winter night.

It was the cold of death.

"Master Yoda," Broga asked innocently. "Join you, I would. Become a Jedi, like you, I wish."

The boy's words barely registered. Then, as quickly as the surge of cold had come, it was gone. He felt again the gentle warmth of Migruna III's twin suns wash over him. He scanned the crowd again not sure exactly what he was looking for. Everything was as expected. No one else seemed to have experienced what he had. Yoda frowned. This meant that either it hadn't occurred at all or it was entirely in the Force. The latter possibility concerned Yoda the most because the child didn't seem to be affected--which could only mean that it was directed at him. Yoda pondered this for several moments.

Then Yoda shrugged.

He noticed that the boy was still staring at him, so he redirected his attention. "Join the Order, you can."

A grin immediately broke out on the child's face. Yoda shook his head.

"But many tests, take you must. Your parents' permission, you must obtain. All adventure, a Jedi's life is not." Yoda pulled his lips tight and narrowed his eyes as his ears drooped low. "Many dangers, you will face. Live to Gandol's age, you will not."

The response seemed to take the wind out of the migru's sail. Yoda wasn't sure which statement actually accomplished this, but he was pleased nonetheless. He wasn't here to recruit Jedi. That's what the Seekers were for.

Broga began to turn away sadly and walk back to the crowds. Yoda sighed.

"Broga!" Yoda called out he unhooked his lightsaber. "Help me with my demonstration, you will." He tossed the lightsaber to the youngling and used the Force to guide its path into the excited waiting hands of the child. "To the outskirts of the ring, go. For my command, wait. When hear it you do, the lightsaber release."

"Yes, Master Yoda!" the elated boy ran with the prize through the gangway of younglings. He abruptly stopped after a few short steps and turned to face the Jedi Master with a confused look on his face. "What command?"

"Know you will, when my lightsaber, I require."

* * *

"A giant river with many currents, the Force is," Yoda said from the center of the ring. He turned slowly as he spoke to the crowd of younglings and tried to make eye-contact with as many of their awed faces as possible. The closest line to him was over twenty meters away, so Yoda used the Force to amplify his voice. He also took the time to look up into the surrounding trees to take in the migru who had gathered there to hear him. "Binds the universe together, the Force does." He pointed to the crowd and swept his stubby finger around. "You…me…everything."

"Lift something!" A petulant youngling shouted from the crowd.

The crowd chuckled but Yoda didn't respond.

"Aid you, the Force can," Yoda continued unfazed, "If call upon it, you do. Help you remove barriers…" Yoda smiled as the youngling who had shouted at him rose into the air above the crowd. A round of applause erupted and the younglings giggled in hysteria as the girl that Yoda lifted into the air floated gently to the ground in front of him. "Teach you, the Force can, that bridges barriers can become."

Yoda looked into the girl's eyes and noted with surprise that it was the same youngling that had caught his eye during the march. Yoda lowered his voice so only the girl could hear.

"Wonder, I do," Yoda smiled, "Why unafraid you were, when flying through the air without control." As she replied, Yoda found that he wasn't simply appreciating her exuberance. He realized that he was actually physically affected by her beauty. He noted, with surprise, that she was the most beautiful migru he had ever seen.

"Afraid of you?" the girl replied with a bright smile. "Never, Master Yoda. Trust you, I do." Her voice was intoxicating. Melodic and sweet. Her ears drooped just the right amount to draw the eyes to her bright red hair glistening under the suns. Her eyes were the brightest blue Yoda had ever seen in a migru or any other species for that matter. Her skin was an exotic deep brown hue that was very rare among his people. Yoda was distracted by the smooth contours of her breasts and hips and the perfect curve of her neck. He blinked several moments and shook his head in a desperate attempt to clear his mind.

"Master Yoda," she grinned broadly as she pointed to slightly above her tiny nose, "My eyes…up here they are."

Yoda bristled at the comment but it helped him regain his sense of composure immediately. He gave her a sidelong glance and turned away from her gruffly. She only smiled in response. Yoda called on the Force again and amplified his voice.

"My volunteer!" Yoda announced to the crowd, as he pointed at the youngling girl. The crowd yelled with mixtures of laughter and cheers. "Saying, I was, how powerful the Force can be."

With a flick of his mind, Yoda called down several large nuts from the very tops of the bending trees around him. The nuts were encased in a hard husk of wood and were a delicacy among the migru. Because the trees were so tall, they were usually only available in the winter months when the trees lowered themselves to the ground. When Yoda was done, there were nearly twenty nuts gathered neatly on the ground next to the young migru girl who regarded them impassively. This simple act by Yoda brought him riches far above those held by most of the migru on the planet. The awe-inspired crowd cheered at what they considered to be an amazing demonstration of power.

"When my head, I nod," Yoda whispered to the girl, "in the air, toss the nuts." She nodded in reply but said nothing.

Yoda turned back to the crowd and smiled. "In the Force, many abilities you will learn. A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. A conduit the Force is, for knowledge and defense." Yoda opened his palm and the youngling Broga threw the blade in the air, brimming with pride. It was almost as if he could hear Yoda calling the weapon in the Force before he had even raised his hand. The lightsaber flew through the air and landed in his waiting hand. A hush fell over the entire gathering as everyone grew desperate to see the blade ignite. "Knowledge, seen you have. Observe, now you will, the power of the Force. Size matters not. Only the Force."

Yoda nodded.

In an instant, four bending tree nuts flung themselves over thirty meters in the air. Yoda spun in astonishment at the migru youngling girl who stood next to the remaining nuts. She shrugged sheepishly. Now, in the Force, Yoda could see her control. She was not only strong in the Force, but she had managed to hide this from him! For a short moment, Yoda thought to speak but she cut him off with a gentle turn of her eyes toward the sky and the falling nuts.

Mischief filled Yoda's face and he grinned.

The Jedi Master leapt into the air and his lightsaber ignited. The green blade became a blur of energy that surrounded the falling nuts. As Yoda landed gently on the ground, the nuts remained suspended in the air, seemingly unaffected by Yoda's barrage. The crowd stared in confusion at the floating orbs but Yoda simply smiled at the girl and nodded.

She gazed at him in apparent admiration, and then she released her hold on the nuts. As she did, they broke apart neatly and fell to the ground, each in eight neat pieces.

The forest became a maelstrom of cheers. Everyone roared in amazement at the fantastic display. As the cheering continued, the girl began hurling the spheres at Yoda in rapid succession. Yoda's blade roared to life and he flew through the air, slicing and whirling and bouncing and cutting. Within seconds, every nut was neatly cut into eight perfect slices and Yoda stood in the center of the ring next to the beauty smiling widely and the thunderous applause.

With a gentle tug from the Force, the slices lifted into the air and began to distribute themselves among the younglings who celebrated the special treasure they were given.

"Not a Jedi," Yoda whispered out of the corner of his mouth to the girl as he waved to the crowd, "but strong in the Force are you. Learned control from someone, you did. Explain?" She stood solemnly next to Yoda, accepting none of the praise but looking out at the crowd with him.

"Know my mother, you do," she replied. "A Jedi Knight, she is."

Yoda turned to look at her in surprise. "Yaddle, your mother is? Mentioned children, she has not. Two young for mating, she is."

"Full of surprises, my mother is," she smiled. "Refused to let the order teach me, she did. Taught me the Force herself, she has. Much to learn, I still have." She turned to face Yoda and grew serious for the first time since he met her. "Hoping you would teach me, I am."

"No!" Yoda replied, his face stern. "No padawans have I had for fifty years. Like the freedom, I do. Besides…." Yoda turned away from her and looked back out at the crowd. He was amazed to realize that he couldn't even hear their cheers anymore and he wasn't waving.

"Besides what?" she asked earnestly.

"A distraction, you could become," Yoda replied tersely. After a long moment, his voice softened. "Your mother, a good teacher, she will be."

The girl grinned. "Teach me you will. Sense it, I do."

"No, I will not!"

"If say so, you do," she laughed louder.

_So much pride. Perfect. And lust…that's unexpected…_

Yoda froze. There was no mistaking it now. Whatever it was, the cold that accompanied the voice had grabbed hold of him like a vice and held him tightly. Then, as quickly as it came, the cold dissipated and Yoda could hear everything—the continuing cheers and the chuckles of the girl beside him.

"Feel that, did you?" Yoda asked, turning to face her with concern.

"Feel what, Master Yoda?" She looked confused.

Yoda's eyes widened and fear began to grip him. He searched the crowds again with desperate eyes. Everyone was looking at him. But there was only admiration in their eyes. Yoda didn't know what to make of what was going on, but he could sense something very wrong. And somehow, he knew it might affect everyone standing in the village—perhaps everyone on Migruna III. Yoda frowned.

"Nothing…." Yoda whispered. "Nothing at all…"


	3. Chapter 2, Recall

**Chapter 2**

**Recall**

Kriva juice was a rare commodity in the galaxy. It was often claimed that its potency rivaled Catorian Dragon blood, which had been known to give certain species epileptic seizures if drank to excess. Of course, no one who had drunk kriva juice ever had any seizures of any kind. They could all attest, however, to its intense inebriating effects. In some creatures—particularly humans—kriva juice entered the blood stream very quickly and was known to act as a powerful hallucinogen after only one drink. Needless to say, kriva juice was highly sought after by the human population.

But what made kriva juice such a prize wasn't its potency or hallucinogenic effects—those could be replicated with the right chemicals. Death Stick dealers were known to promise a trip better than twenty glasses of kriva juice. What made the drink one of the most expensive and coveted items on the market was that it was, in fact, a truth serum of sorts. Thousands of secret organizations on hundreds of worlds did their very best to procure large quantities of the brew for use in covert operations. It was ideal for this purpose given that the drink looked and smelled perfectly innocuous. It also had the additional benefit of tasting better than some of the finest wines in the galaxy.

Kriva juice was extremely challenging to manufacture in even the most advanced laboratories. Should one manage to overcome the considerable hurdles of obtaining the rare and expensive ingredients and happened to be able to precisely duplicate the ideal temperature and pressure conditions necessary, one was still not guaranteed success. This was primarily because artificial kriva juice was notoriously unstable. The slightest perturbation in the manufacturing process was likely to produce a very expensive, very useless bucket of goop. Even what appeared to be a perfect replica often lacked the potency necessary to produce the desired effect. Consequently, when one wanted kriva juice, one went to great pains to obtain kriva berries.

As it would happen, there was only one place in the galaxy to get kriva berries—Migruna III. Kriva berries grew wild on the forest planet on shrubs that required virtually no care whatsoever. This made kriva berries the second largest export on Migruna. The migru never truly grasped why the star travelers were so obsessed with the tiny fruit, of course. This was in large part because to the migru, kriva juice was nothing more than a drink to accompany dinner. The only thing that kriva juice did to the average migru was what it had done to Jedi Master Yoda who was slumping slightly at Gandol's table with a mug of the drink in his hand—

It made them very, very drunk.

"Yoda!" roared Gandol above the loud merrymaking that was going on in his opulent tree-shelter. Gandol was only slightly less intoxicated than Yoda, but had drunk several more mugs of kriva juice than Yoda had. "Learn to hold your drink, you must! Spent too much time among the Jedi, you have!"

Yoda rolled his eyes at Gandol and laughed out loud. "Perhaps," Yoda yelled back with a grin, "But drink too much, you do!" Yoda was laughing at his quip as if he truly believed that he had demonstrated the most phenomenal wit possible. When he looked over at Yaddle's daughter and saw not even the slightest hint of amusement, he quickly reconsidered his response and found it lacking. She must have noticed the sheepish expression on his face because she wrapped her arms around his right elbow and giggled uncontrollably. Yoda smiled at that and was soon laughing again.

There were about twenty migru gathered in the room, with only one rather disheveled looking attendant, clearly Gandol's personal assistant, dashing desperately from one influential migru to the next, trying to ensure that everyone's glass was full. Yoda chuckled slightly to himself as he watched the assistant desperately eye every glass as if expecting the next one to fall. Given how difficult kriva stains were to remove, Yoda imagined that horrible visions of hours of cleaning filled the young migru's head. For a brief moment, Yoda mischievously considered using the Force to suggest to the young man that the entire floor was covered in kriva juice, but then decided against it.

The entire room was alight with laughter and merrymaking. Yoda looked on through somewhat lidded eyes and smiled at the sight. The lights in the room were all artificial and grew increasingly bombastic as one's eye traveled from the entrance to the main seat, where Gandol sat. Yoda suddenly envisioned Gandol standing on top of one of Coruscant's large orbital mirrors, proudly displaying the most grandiose light any migru had ever seen. For reasons that weren't exactly clear to him at the time, Yoda found this to be exceedingly amusing.

Everyone fell deathly silent as Yoda exploded into hysterical fits of laughter.

Somehow, once Yoda realized that everyone was looking at him, he found that even funnier than his mental image of Gandol standing on Coruscanti orbital mirrors, and laughed even harder.

He wasn't sure exactly what happened next. He just remembered the rather uncomfortable sensation of leaning backward but having nothing to support his weight. Somehow, he'd forgotten than migru do not sit on chairs but rather large benches made of tree trunks. His error only became clear to him when he realized that he was looking straight ahead and all that he could see was the ceiling. And for some reason, his head hurt quite a bit.

He was about to try and right himself when a stunningly attractive young migru woman entered his field of view and looked directly at him. _Down_ at him, to be more precise. He could see that her lips were moving but he found it impossible to make out the words, which suddenly became a new source of amusement for the Jedi Master. He saw her extend her slender hands down to him and he reflexively grabbed them.

"Drunk, you are!" she smiled at him. "Away with you! Take you outside for fresh air, I will."

Yoda didn't mind at all that she seemed to be talking to him as if he were a child—something he rather disliked coming from just about anyone else. In fact, her voice was so soothing that he really didn't care what she said as long as she kept talking. By the time they had reached the entrance door, the room was alight with shouting and carousing again. They were about to step out when Gandol forestalled them.

"Rizza!" he yelled to the migru girl. She stopped and turned toward Gandol and smiled. Yoda looked at her quizzically and tried his best to stifle yet another burst of laughter.

"Yes, father?" she replied innocently.

Yoda's eyes widened and the effects of his multiple dates with kriva juice seemed to instantly disappear.

"Father…?" Yoda stammered, looking from Rizza to Gandol and then at the floor as his addled mind tried to wrap itself around the idea. If she heard him, she didn't show it in the slightest.

"On the Jedi Master, take it easy," Gandol laughed. "Met your like, I'm sure, he has not. Free spirits, the Jedi do not know." The girl nodded and laughed aloud as she spied the still befuddled Yoda, mouthing the word "Father" repeatedly without any sound escaping his lips.

"On my best behavior, I will be, Father," Rizza replied with what Yoda was almost certain was a mischievous wink. "The behavior of our esteem guest, guarantee I can not." Gandol erupted into laughter at this, and then turned to one of his friends and began a new conversation.Chapter 2 continued

**

* * *

**

"Rizza…" Yoda whispered as the young migru woman used the Force to guide them to the ground gently. The Jedi Master gave her a wistful sidelong glance during the short journey as he rolled her name around in his mind for what felt like an eternity. He wasn't sure if the kriva juice was affecting him or not, but he found that he could scarcely think of anything else.

"My name it is," she replied with an expansive smile, "and more to me than a name, there is, Master Yoda." When Yoda didn't respond, she hooked her left arm around his elbow and began to lead him down a small dirt path, through a thicket of bending trees and shrubs, towards a tiny pond that was only thirty meters away. "Quiet, the night is," she said in a respectful, hushed tone, "feel the Force flowing, I can. Suspect, I do, that feel it too you could, if not so distracted you were."

Yoda looked up at her with an expression on his face that made it clear that he found her remark rather insulting. While he had to admit that the woman was certainly attractive, there was no creature in the universe that could distract him from his powerful connection with the Force. He opened his mouth to say just that when she lifted her gentle hand and touched his face.

"By the drink, I meant," she said soothingly, though not very convincingly.

Yoda relaxed and smiled weakly. She did have a point. Yoda didn't like the idea of being anything but in control in any situation. Resolving to rectify this immediately, the Jedi Master stopped in the middle of the path. Rizza stared at him in confusion but he simply closed his eyes and called on the Force. A wave of energy, unseen to the naked eye, washed over him immediately. A moment later, Yoda opened his eyes, completely rid of the intoxicating effects of the kriva juice and he turned one corner of his mouth upwards in a crooked smile.

Cold.

_I think I prefer you sober, anyway…_

Yoda's eyes went wide.

His gaze darting into the trees around him, he suddenly realized how dark the area was and how utterly exposed to attack he and Rizza were. Reflexively, his lightsaber went to his hand and ignited with a small touch of the Force.

"Master Yoda," Rizza looked anxious. "What is it? Help, should I get?"

"Return to your father," Yoda snapped without looking at her. "Discuss your training later, we will."

"But…"

"No! No buts!" Yoda's stare went to her eyes and he stared at her for a long moment. _By the Force! She is beautiful!_ Yoda pushed the thought to the corner of his mind that he reserved for all things that became obstacles. "Go! Quickly!"

Rizza seemed almost hurt by the sudden turn of events but only nodded in response and began to trot back up the path. As soon as she was out of sight, Yoda called on the Force and opened his eyes to the world around him. His surroundings crystallized in his mind and he could sense everything around him. He felt her leap into the tree and knew that she was desperately trying to explain to her father what had happened. Yoda pushed his concern for her away and extended his senses further.

He could feel it all. The trees; the pond; and the creatures that lived within the pond; But he sensed nothing out of the ordinary. He deactivated his lightsaber, sensing no immediate physical danger, and closed his eyes.

Giving more of himself over to the Force, Yoda extended his senses to encompass the entire village and then across the continent. Still, there was no sign of whom or what had spoken to him. Yoda began to grow concerned because he wasn't sure he could extend his senses beyond the planet boundaries.

_The only limits on the Force, my friend, are the ones you place on it…_

Fear gripped Yoda as he realized that whoever it was that spoke to him, had the ability to invade his thoughts. From a distance. Yoda extended the tendrils of the Force into space and immediately found it.

His blood ran cold.

He hadn't found a person, as he had expected. It was not a ship carrying some fantastic creature.

He found a void.

There, in geosynchronous orbit, high above Migruna III, a black hole in the Force floated. The Jedi Master marveled at how its existence had managed to escape his notice, now that he knew where it was. Yoda tried to breach the boundaries of the void but was driven back by the unimaginable cold that seemed to radiate from it. Within moments, Yoda felt as if long, dark cold fingers were extending from the void and reaching down from space to grip him.

Undeterred, Yoda pulled the Force into him with all his might. But the harder Yoda concentrated, the more powerful the death-cold tentacles' grip seemed to grow. Within moments, Yoda's legs began to cave under him. Dizziness began to overcome him.

"NO!" Yoda shouted both aloud and in the Force. With a burst of power that only he was capable of, the tendrils of darkness broke apart and Yoda stood tall. He breathed heavily but maintained his sense of the void.

_You're even stronger than I sensed…_

"Who…are…you?" Yoda panted. He called on the Force to calm him.

_Excellent…_

"What…do you want?"

_Why spoil the surprise…?_

Abruptly, the void disappeared. Yoda searched in a moment of disorientation at the sudden disconnection and realized that only a ship remained in orbit at the center of where the cold blackness had been. Yoda began to extend his senses into the cockpit of the ship when it rapidly turned and leaped into hyperspace.

Yoda hung his head momentarily and caught his breath. Using a Jedi calming technique, he pulled the Force into himself and drove the fear that threatened to overcome him away. Finally, feeling the familiar sense of peace that was the light he had known his entire life, Yoda opened his eyes and tread up the path.

He was less than five meters from the ladder that led to Gandol's abode when he felt a familiar hum against his leg. A frown carved itself into the Jedi Master's face as he reached into his robes to retrieve the small device. Not needing to see it for confirmation, he pulled it out and looked at it anyway.

In his palm, the small circular device vibrated again and its red light blinked ominously in perfect synchrony. It would continue to do so, of course, until he acknowledged the signal. Yoda looked up at the tree platform longingly and saw several migru standing on the porch looking in his general direction with concern etched on their faces. Yoda waved at them casually with his free hand and smiled widely to assuage their concerns.

Gandol waved back and laughed boisterously as if he and Yoda had been playing a joke on everyone gathered. Soon everyone was laughing too as they all began filing back into the dwelling to renew the merrymaking. Everyone, that is, except Rizza and Gandol, who both looked back at Yoda with concern.

But Yoda was no longer looking at them. He considered ignoring the Jedi beacon but knew he couldn't do so for long. They would grow concerned if he took too long to acknowledge and even more concerned if he took too long to return to the temple. He held the beacon up to his right eye and swiped his fingernail across the back softly. Immediately, a blue scanning beam emitted from the device and swept over his eye socket several times. After the third iteration, the red light turned green and the periodic vibrations ceased. Yoda nodded with the knowledge that a return signal had been sent to Coruscant. It would take him about a day by hyperspace to get back and he had a little over three before they would grow concerned and send someone out to find him. He knew better than to take more than two if he wanted to avoid a long argument in the Council Chambers.

In very short order, he was standing on the landing between Gandol and Rizza. Rizza was looking at him worriedly but Gandol had a patient calm on his face. Yoda nodded briefly at both of them and then shrugged.

Rizza broke the silence. "The disturbance…felt it I did," she announced. "Concerned, I was. What was it?"

"Of no concern to you, it is," Yoda replied. "Much to discuss, we have before leave I must."

Disappointment showed on Rizza's face. She seemed barely able to hold back the choke in her voice.

"Leave?" she whispered. "Only arrived recently, you did."

"For over a month, been here I have," Yoda answered shaking his head. "Unfortunate, it is, that so long to meet you, it took."

Tears seemed to be swelling in Rizza's eyes but none fell. Gandol spoke up. "Why must you leave?"

"Recalled by the Jedi, I have been."

* * *

_Peace. _

Migru younglings played in the wide, open field with reckless abandon. Surrounding the outskirts of the meadow, bending trees swayed in the gentle breeze under the calidity of the setting twin suns of Migruna III. As one of the smaller younglings tripped and rolled helplessly down a moderate slope of green, the older migru chuckled in amusement. When the child finally came to a stop, she joined in the laughter.

Sitting in his favorite chair, several meters away and above, Gandol watched the scene with genuine pleasure. He listened to the sound of his breathing join the wind as he sipped on the cool glass of kriva juice he held in his strong hands.

The miners were leaving the mountain to return home. Nearly a hundred migru plodded from the distant hills, each carrying a small bundle. The community of Prime Village gathered along the sides of the main road to greet their friends and family. The stall and shop owners, as had been their custom for hundreds of years, left their places of business unattended and the children ceased their play.

Prime Village was enjoying the end of another peaceful day.

Fire.

A beam of particle energy ripped the sky apart.

_The migru never saw it. The atmosphere burned away. Fires erupted. Hundreds of migru burst into flames and died in an instant. Those were the fortunate ones. _

Others, who were inside their huts, began to roast alive, trapped in the inferno. Those who had not yet left the mines were crushed under the mountain's collapse. The vagrant mysteries of the Force allowed many to survive even this. For those poor souls, death would have been welcome release. Their stunned eyes watched as the energy plunged into the heart of their village.

_Gandol's tree-home vaporized. _

_Lungs, too seared with superheated air to ever work again, failed to allow their owners to scream. _

_Energy, the color of Yoda's blade, burrowed into the planet with deadly precision. Eyes, too filled with horror to cry, were blinded by the light. Hearts, too weak to continue beating, managed to break as the very ground beneath the planet shook itself asunder. _

Then, as suddenly as it began, the beam was gone.

All on Migruna III were gone…

Yoda's eyes popped open.

His hands were clammy and sweat poured from his forehead. His heart pounded in his chest like a blaster cannon stuck on automatic fire as fear plunged itself into his chest. Drawing on the power of the light, Yoda closed his eyes and centered himself, utilizing his hundreds of years of Jedi training to bring him calm.

He searched the walls of his ship in the Force and found nothing out of the ordinary. The room was cramped, as it always had been. Yoda pondered why the Order would even consider further reducing the size of the Jedi Interceptor ships to small one-man fighters. His ship had proven useful and one-man fighters were too small to carry their own hyperdrive engines. He couldn't imagine having to rely on a hyperdrive ring to ensure his safe return home.

Yoda frowned.

He was distracting himself from his fear, rather than confronting it. This was not his way. The vision had come to him, unbidden, and with startling clarity. He had been meditating during his return to Coruscant. He was searching the currents of the Force for any signs of the dark void he had detected the day before. He floated in the river that he knew the Force to be, confident that he would be guided to his quarry. Instead, he had found a visceral vision of apocalypse.

Though calmed by the Force, Yoda's hands shook as he rose unsteadily from the mat on the cold durasteel floor of his ship. He walked to the cockpit area, two meters away. When he arrived, his heart no longer pounded and his hands no longer shook. Looking out the main viewscreen, he lost himself in the roiling blue-white cloud of hyperspace. He felt her approach but said nothing.

"Master Yoda, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Please…tell me. Help you, I could." Yoda turned to look at her. For the first time since she had met him, Yoda allowed Rizza to see the true pain etched into his face. "What is it?"

"A…dream." His brow knit in concentration as he considered his words. "A…premonition, it was. Its meaning, unclear it is. In grave danger, our home may be."

"Prime Village?"

Yoda's eyes stung. "Migruna."

A look of bewilderment came over her features. Yoda nodded sadly and explained his vision. Rizza's hand covered her mouth. Her eyes widened. Silence blanketed the tiny chamber as they stared at each other. After an eternity of seconds, she placed a tentative hand on his chest. Reflexively, his hand joined hers. Within a moment, they embraced. She wept into his chest.

"Stop this, I will," Yoda whispered into her ear. "More powerful in the Force than I, none are. Find the cause and stop it, I must."

"Help you, I will." Their faces only centimeters apart and he inhaled her intoxicating scent. "Together, unstoppable we would be."

Yoda smiled wryly. "Perhaps. Visit with the Council, I will. Seek their help, we should. Then return to Migruna and protect her."

"A dream only, it could be…" Her voice was soft and her breath smelled like the danandrum flowers he loved so much.

"Never come true, the dream must. If a dream only, it is, then fortunate I will be. Return home for nothing, I will." His eyes twinkled. "No downside to free kriva juice, there is!"

The kiss was sudden and completely unexpected. One moment he was smiling at her, and the next her lips were locked with his. Her arms snaked around his waist. Yoda closed his eyes and embraced the pleasure of her warm touch, pulling her closer to him. Perhaps it was only seconds, but the Jedi Master felt eons of indulgence in them.

She broke the kiss.

Yoda's heart sank. He felt as if he had been emptied of all joy. He eyed her warily as she scanned the cockpit and pointed to the chronometer.

It indicated the time left to arrive at Coruscant.

"Two hours alone, we have," she whispered. Her mouth closed gently around the very tip of his ear and she smiled as she blew softly against his skin. "Use it wisely, we should."


	4. Chapter 3, Vergence

**Chapter 3**

**Vergence**

The durasteel doors to the Jedi Council chambers were shut.

Yoda stood before them with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes closed, his face impassive. His rock-still position hid his disdain for where he stood. The doors were tall, even for species of average height. For Yoda, they were two slabs of mountainside that parted to reveal a massive estuary into which the currents of the Force flowed, often unbeknownst to its residents. He revered the chamber, but he despised it as well. The reverence, he held for the history of the room—the disdain, he felt for those who occupied it.

The Jedi Council was nothing more than a midi-chlorian club.

Millennia ago, one earned a position on the Jedi Council through years of service and demonstration of phenomenal control of oneself and the abilities granted by the Force. The Jedi had understood then that true power had nothing to do with the gifts naturally given, but with the ability to grow beyond those natural abilities.

Two hundred years prior, an astute young Jedi Healer named Callista Blade had discovered the existence of midi-chlorians and recognized the correlation between midi-chlorian count and Force-potential. While no direct causal effect was ever discovered, before long, this one biological oddity became the primary deciding factor in selecting new Jedi students for training.

Yoda thought of the many times he had seen worthy padawans go unselected by Jedi Masters simply because the youngling's midi-chlorian count was too low. He had made it a habit of selecting those undesirable students for training as often as possible and took great pride in watching his students dismantle the more gifted students in lightsaber practice.

As he stood there, impassive, he considered how much the Jedi Council had come to reflect the prejudices of the Order. Elevation to the Jedi Council had become a matter of biological caprice. Having not experienced any real challenges since the Sith War, the Jedi Order relied not on skill or mastery of the Force in selecting Jedi Council Members, but on the number of microscopic organisms in one's cells.

They had been hounding him for over two hundred years to join the Council. He would have been their pride and joy, he was sure—the being with the highest midi-chlorian count on record. The very thought of joining them made his stomach lurch. They were little more than the pawns of the Republic. He did his best to hide his contempt when he was before them.

They were sycophants.

They were weak.

They were everything he hated about what the Order had become.

The doors suddenly opened and Yoda opened his eyes. His face became an inscrutable mask as he strode into the room.

They were also his leaders.

"Do you believe this void to be a Vergence in the Force?" Master Tulook's pallid pink eyes bored into Yoda. His triangular-shaped wrinkled skull was cocked slightly in what passed for a quizzical look among the Arcona. His recent addition to the Council after years as a Jedi Archivist did not hinder his voice in the chambers.

Yoda shrugged slightly. "An absence of the Force, a more apt description would be." Yoda looked around the room. "Like a black hole, it was. From its horizon, nothing escaped. Spoke to me from its center, someone did. Unable to locate him, I have been."

A loud snort came from the direction of Jedi Master Fanzeh, the Klantooinian. "It seems to me that this void you refer to had more to do with kriva juice than the Force."

Yoda scowled and the olive-skinned humanoid straightened slightly in his chair. Fanzeh's eyes, which were set deep into his skull and hidden under a large wrinkled brow ridge, locked with Yoda's. The bottom row of his jagged teeth moved upwards and slipped seamlessly under the split jowls of his upper lip. At length, Master Fanzeh looked down.

"Drunk on kriva juice, I was," He turned his back on Fanzeh, "when bought you from the Hutts, I did."

"Let's not make this personal." The Negotiator.

Yoda turned and nodded curtly. Master Qui-Lek stood, drawing his imposing height to its fullest. He walked out to the center of the chamber and joined Yoda. Typical. Condescending.

"Personal, it is not. Concerned, we should be. Uncertain, I may be, but convinced, I am, that of the dark side, this phenomenon was."

"The dark side?" Qui-Lek looked down at Yoda, his eyebrows raised.

"Master Yoda, I was under the impression that the dark side was hot, not cold as you described this experience." Ji-Aba-Zin was the most intelligent of the group. The Cerean Jedi Master clasped his hands between his spread legs and leaned his long, conical head forward in a look of keen interest.

Yoda turned to face him, which made Qui-Lek's frown given that Yoda's new position pointed his back to the head of the Jedi Council.

"Odd indeed, it is. When encounter users of the dark side of the Force, we do, unusually passionate, they are. In the Force, red hot flames of rage, they become. Cold, this void was. No experience with it, I have. But of the dark side this void was, I am sure."

"Then it can't be centered on a Force-user, Master Yoda," Ji-Aba-Zin answered with certainty. He sat back with a satisfied look. "It must be some other phenomenon we haven't encountered yet."

"Perhaps. Investigate it further, I will. I will report my findings to the Council, when understanding I gain."

"Very well, Yoda," Master Qui-Lek returned to his seat and looked sternly at Yoda. "But first, we need to discuss why we called you here." The corners of Qui-Lek's mouth drew downward and Yoda knew immediately that the news was not good. "Master Kreen has died." Qui-Lek leaned forward with compassionate eyes. "I know she was your friend. I'm sorry."

Yoda nodded. His knew that his face was completely unreadable and he preferred it that way.

San Kreen had been more than a friend. It was into Yoda's hands that the Jedi Seekers had placed her when she was six months old. He had watched her grow from that birth into the Order until she was ready for selection as a padawan. Masters clamored to claim her because she was unusually strong in the Force, but it was Yoda who ended up guiding her into knighthood. Eighty-three years later, the bonds of their friendship were severed. It was not the first friend he had lost in the last five hundred years. It would not be the last. When one lives over a thousand years, he comes to expect losing friends.

He allowed himself a moment to grieve before letting her passing go.

"From me, what do you want?" Yoda whispered, at length.

"Her death has opened a seat on the Council. I'm afraid that we have to insist that you fill it. Now…don't try to tell us that you don't belong here. We've all heard your arguments more times than we can count. The simple fact is that there is no one else who can fill her position. You are the only choice."

"Hundreds of Jedi, we have!" His eyes were alight with irritation. "Need me, you do not. No important qualifications, I have! Set your midi-chlorian bar lower, you should!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Fanzeh snorted. "This isn't about midi-chlorians and you know it! You're the oldest Jedi Master in the order! You have more experience than all of us combined. You should be leading the Jedi Order, not running from it!"

"Run? Run?" Yoda's fists balled tightly as he took several threatening steps towards Fanzeh, whose face suddenly looked ashen as he leaned back in his chair, clearly unsure of what to do should Yoda reach him.

Qui-Lek made Fanzeh's concerns moot.

"Master Yoda, please." Qui-Lek extended his arms in a welcoming gesture. "We're only asking you to fill a seat. We've discussed it at length and are convinced that there would be no harm in you continuing as you have. You would merely take part in the decisions of this Council via holocomm when necessary." He brought his arms in when Yoda stopped in place and regarded him.

Qui-Lek's face grew stern. "It is the final decision of the Council. Will you abide by it?"

"No!"

"Yoda!"

Yoda locked eyes with Qui-Lek defiantly. The human's eyes were watering and Yoda suppressed a giggle at the man's obvious discomfort.

_Let them win, sometimes I should,_ Yoda thought. "Accept the Council's decision, I will."

The tension in the room immediately broke as Yoda bowed curtly and Qui-Lek leaned back in his chair with a smile on his face.

"Excellent, Yoda." Qui-Lek crossed his legs and spread both his arms along the sides of his chair casually. "You mentioned there was something else?"

"A new padawan taken, I have."

"You're speaking of this Rizza from your home world that came with you?" Master Redous nodded. "We examined her. She has been well trained by Yaddle. The Council has meditated on whether or not it is wise for you to train her."

Yoda raised his right eyebrow.

"We believe it is not."

Yoda's lips tightened.

"You are attracted to her. You have already been intimate with her."

Yoda's breath grew short.

"You are not in a position to evaluate her as a Master should. It would be a conflict of interest."

Yoda's pulse quickened.

"The Council has decided that I should train her instead."

"Want her for yourself, you do!" The words were out before he knew what he was saying, and flames licked at the insides of his chest. "Have her, you can not! Train her, I will!"

All the Masters on the Council exchanged silent, wary glances. In that moment, Yoda closed his eyes and tried to center himself in the Force. He found it more difficult than it had been in the past. Breathing deeply, he finally felt the calm sweep over him. Silence filled the chambers and all the Masters stared at Yoda intently when he finally opened his eyes.

Several tense moments past before Yoda finally spoke again. His voice was quiet and resigned. "Apologize, I do. Understand your decision and accept it, I will. Request, I do that return with me to Migruna, she does. Assist in my investigation, she can. When completed the mission is, return for your training, she will."

"That is perfectly acceptable." Redous nodded his reptilian head.

Yoda scanned the room and realized that there was nothing left to say. They were all looking at him with concern. He fought the look of disdain that threatened to draw itself on his face.

He nodded curtly and left the Council Chambers.

**

* * *

**

"Why do you insist on upsetting them, Yoda?"

The gentle trickling sound of water filled the entire chamber. Yoda was perched atop a large bolder that sat near the edge of the artificial pond, wearing only a pair of form fitting black shorts. He pushed himself gracefully off the rock and slid into the water. It came to just below his neck. A broad smile filled his face as he leaned backward into the water and began to float in the fountain.

"Yoda!"

He laughed and began to stroke away from his friend, who frowned at him in exasperation. She stood up from her uncomfortable stone seat and turned to follow him, who was gliding through the water elegantly. As she paced his progress, she pulled her hands behind her back, mimicking Yoda's gait during instruction and settled into quiet breathing. When he'd traversed the nearly one-hundred meter wide pool, he calmly turned and quietly swam back. Despite her outward calm, the occasional twitch of her long lavender tentacles, which extended from the base of her skull, displayed her annoyance. As Yoda began yet another trip down the pool, she stopped.

"Enough! Yoda, I've had enough of this. You shouldn't even be swimming in the fountain! What if someone sees you?"

"Seen me, someone has, Elyana." Yoda stopped swimming and stood up. He stared at her reprovingly for a long moment and then trudged to the embankment where she stood. He glanced over at her as he dried himself and noticed her right lekku flickering almost continuously. He sighed. "Sorry I am, if upsets you my swimming does."

"It's not your swimming, Yoda! It's your absolute disregard for anything the Council says! Why must you always fight them?"

Yoda regarded her quietly. She was breathing heavily and her hands trembled slightly.

"_Unwise,_ you think I am being, my old padawan?"

The impact of the words was immediate. Elyana lowered her head and calmed her breathing. Yoda knew she was calling on the Force to help steady herself before she spoke again—exactly as he had taught her when she was only five nearly three decades before. She stood before him, a proud Jedi Master and his staunchest supporter on the Council. He donned his robes and turned to face the pool. A twitch of the Force pulled a small pebble from the calm waters. Another flicker brought another pebble from within the streaming waterfall that poured into the still pond.

"Master Secura!" His voice rebounded off the waterfall. "Join me."

With a respectful nod, Elyana walked over to Yoda and stood by his side. She looked down at him expectantly. It was often during moments like this that Yoda had imparted some of his deepest wisdom to her. She smiled. It was also during moments like this that she might expect to find herself lifted by the wings of the Force and dumped unceremoniously into the water. She wasn't sure which Yoda she was considering. As a precaution, she decided to use the Force to hold her to ground.

Her sidelong glance caught Yoda's mischievous grin.

"Another time, perhaps," he chuckled. "Know, you should though, that if wanted you wet I did, bring the fountain to the mountain, I would."

Elyana's eyes widened at the thought of the entire contents of the pool being lifted into the air and dumped onto her head. If there was a Jedi who could do such a thing, it would be Yoda. What concerned her even more was the fact that he was also the only Jedi who would consider doing it.

Yoda faced her and opened his palms. Master Secura looked down and saw one pebble nestled in each stubby green hand. The pebbles were completely unremarkable. She regarded them, trying to anticipate Yoda's point.

"I see two pebbles."

"Their differences, explain."

"Well...they're actually quite similar, Master Yoda. Both are about the same size and shape. They were both immersed in water before you snatched them up. They—"

"No! Their differences, explain."

"I only see one difference, really."

"Hmmm…"

"One is rather coarse and the other is smooth."

"The cause of the difference, you know?"

"I suppose because one is younger than the other?"

"No. No difference in age, there is."

"One was smoother than the other in the first place?"

"No. Born the same, these two brothers were."

"I don't understand, then."

Yoda grunted in irritation. "If told you were, that from the calm of the fountain one was pulled and from the waterfall, the other, help you that would?"

Realization dawned. "Of course! The smooth one was pulled from the waterfall and the coarse one was pulled from the calm waters."

Yoda nodded approval but said nothing.

"Are you saying that the Jedi Council is a pebble and that you are a waterfall?"

Yoda chuckled. "Perhaps. Perhaps, saying I am that…not always bad, conflict is. Smoothes out the rough patches, it can. Too calm, the Council is, for its own good. Learn, you all must, to deal with life. Face the challenges and grow. Or—"

He tossed the coarse stone into the water. A ripple formed and spread but the waters quickly returned to their previous calm.

"Stagnant you will become."

* * *

"Yoda!"

The migru Jedi Master's face wrinkled under a deep frown. He was beginning to think that his name was the only one anyone in the Jedi Order knew. What was worse, they seemed to only know one way to pronounce it—loudly! Unhurriedly, he continued to walk toward Master Qui-Lek.

The head of the Council had summoned him nearly an hour before but Yoda never responded well to being summoned—especially when it had been delivered by a young padawan human no older than thirteen who stammered the message so many times that Yoda felt compelled to teach the boy the more basic meditation techniques.

"Yoda!"

"Coming, clearly I am," Yoda snapped. He glared at Qui-Lek but didn't change his pace. "A planet is dying, I presume, to arouse such urgency in you!"

Qui-Lek blinked. After a long moment, he relaxed.

"Oh, I get it. You were trying to be funny. I'm not laughing."

Yoda finally stopped at the Jedi Master's side. "See that, I can. What do you want?"

"I want you to meet somebody. He's a lobbyist from the Corellian System, but he's not Corellian—he seems to want to make sure we understand that—what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Fortunate it is, that not busy I was. A good thing, perhaps, that called me you did not, for something unimportant. Meet a politician, urgent it must be!"

"Yoda. Please. Sarcasm is beneath you."

"When my height you are, few things beneath me you will find."

Yoda's face was stern. His eyes were full of impatience. He had been teaching Rizza the beginning stages of Ataro. Given that the summons was from Qui-Lek, he hoped that the interruption was necessary. He was very disappointed.

"Look, Yoda. This isn't just _some_ politician! He's been lobbying the Senate to increase our role in the Galactic Dispute Bill which is coming to a vote this week. He's trying to increase our funding and raise our status as guardians of the Republic."

"Guardians of the Republic, we are, whether granted by the Senate or not. Need a law, we do not."

Qui-Lek looked at Yoda with what Yoda felt was a condescending air of pity. "Don't you understand? Yes, we would guard the Republic whether they asked us to or not, but think about how much easier it will be to accomplish our missions if we have the blessing of the Republic Senate? Plus, more funding means that we can cover more missions! We can do more good! Isn't that what you're always telling us we should be doing? Going out and doing good, instead of staying at the Temple?"

"Do this we should, because it is right. A resolution from the Senate need, we should not!" Yoda's voice rose a little higher and he pointed his long-nailed finger at Qui-Lek. "A pointless discussion, this is. To meet your lobbyist, what point would there be? Things to do, more important than this, I have." Yoda turned away and started to walk back to the training room.

"He specifically asked to meet you."

Yoda stopped and turned, his right eyebrow raised high on his forehead. "Yes, Yoda. Two years ago when he first came here, he asked for a tour of the Temple, which we gladly granted him. He was impressed, of course, but immediately recognized our need for more ships and training room. He donated over a billion credits to our mission fund and began his lobby to increase our position in the Republic government. Even then, all he talked about when he wasn't discussing political maneuvering was meeting the great Jedi Master Yoda!"

Yoda stared in surprise. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "A joke, this is."

"Yoda, come on. Don't pretend you're not flattered. We know each other too well to play games. He's waiting in the Council Chambers for you. He insisted on a private meeting. All I ask is that you be nice. Let him get his handshake in and he'll be happy. He's probably given this Order more promise of stability than we've had in centuries. Can you _please_ be friendly?"

"Politics! Feh!" Yoda marched toward the chamber doors. He turned when he reached the entrance to look again at Qui-Lek. "Understand, you do, of course, that with Senate funding, more oversight by the Republic, we will have. More control over Jedi matters, the Senate will obtain. A dangerous path we walk, Master Qui-Lek."

Qui-Lek shrugged. "His name is Dorran Kaine."

A wave of Yoda's hand opened the chamber doors wide and he entered the room.

* * *

Elegant.

Yoda was taken aback by the striking man who stood at the outskirts of the empty Council Chambers, staring quietly out the transparisteel window at the Coruscanti skyline. The man was tall, even for a human. Yoda estimated two meters. His hands were clasped neatly behind his back, forming a perfect triangle that lay atop his dark armorweave cloak. Yoda noted the expensive knee-high black boots were pristine, polished to a high gloss. His dark skin almost seemed to blend into the deep brown pants and tunic he wore, which were only slightly lighter than the thick black belt he wore around his midsection. His hair was in the same style and length as Yoda's and was only slightly duller in color.

"Dorran Kaine, I presume."

The man turned slowly and faced Yoda. His face was remarkably blank—a look Yoda would ascribe to a Jedi deep in meditation. Yoda observed the man in the Force but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The moment his eyes fell on Yoda, his face came alive. A large smile erupted on Kaine's face and he glided across the room anxiously. Yoda was impressed with the man's grace.

"Please, Master Yoda, call me Dorran. I've been anxious to meet you."

"So I hear."

Kaine's hand was extended to Yoda but the Jedi Master only stared at it. Soon, it became clear that Kaine was not going to lower his hand until he obtained contact, so Yoda reached up and shook the benefactor's hand. As he shook it, Yoda noted uncomfortably that Kaine was staring at him intently, as if scrutinizing him. The handshake was beginning to linger. Yoda broke it.

"It is a real pleasure to finally meet you! You have no idea how long I've been trying to spend a few moments with you."

"Two years."

"Well…umm…yes, actually. That's how long I've been asking, anyway. I've been trying to find an excuse to meet you virtually my entire life. I still remember the first time I heard about you! Is it true that you single-handedly stopped the entire Kan'li army from invading Ken'li?"

"Stop the army, I did not. Stopped the leaders, I did."

"Well…I'm sure the story got exaggerated over time."

"Common, exaggeration is. Boast of one's accomplishments, one should not. Unless boast of his failures too, he will." Yoda narrowed his eyes. "Nearly killed on that mission, I was."

Dorran Kaine's smile shrank a little and he resumed his somewhat regal stance.

"Well, it does not matter. You are the oldest Jedi alive! It is an honor to meet you! Have I mentioned that I have obtained permission to review some of your unclassified missions from the archive? I am really looking forward to that."

Yoda did his best to smile. It came across as a grimace. He was trying to decide if he had spent the requisite amount of time to fall under the category of "courteous." Given that Kaine seemed to be interested in talking, Yoda decided it best to change the subject.

"A Korun, you are, are you not?"

Kaine's eyes widened. "Yes, actually. I am from Haruun Kal. How did you know?"

"Been there, I have. That belt-buckle you wear, a family crest it is."

"Yes! Amazing observation skills, Master Yoda! Did you actually meet someone from the Kaine family? We go back at least ten generations there."

"No. Saw the crest I did, when investigating the destruction of the castle home."

"I remember that! I was seventeen or eighteen then. Fortunately, I was away on my father's orders." Kaine's face fell. "I might have…"

"Fortunate, you were. The loss of your family, grieve you need not. Joined the Force, they have." Yoda's voice grew sympathetic. "A great tragedy, it was. But glad you should be, that found the murderer, we did."

"Yes. I was…pleased by the outcome of the investigation. I still cannot believe it, even after fifty years." Kaine's eyes seemed to mist. "Did you know my brother died on that prison planet they sent him to? Murdered by an inmate apparently."

"Unfortunate, that is. Amazing, it is, that meet you—"

_It's only a matter of time…_

The wave of frigidity struck Yoda and drove the Jedi Master to his knees. Panic swept through him and pounded against his temples. Yoda's hand hit the duracrete floor to hold him upright as the freezing torrent threatened to burn him up.

"Master Yoda, are you OK?" Concern filled Kaine's voice.

The cold vanished.

Yoda felt the cool sensation of the duracrete floor on his hands and feet again. He lifted his head and stared wildly around.

Nothing.

He closed his eyes and searched the heavens with the Force, hoping to locate the ship he had felt on Migruna III. Nothing. Yoda breathed deeply to calm himself. The Force flowed into him slowly and Yoda stood. Maintaining his connection with the Force, Yoda searched the currents for guidance.

_Fire. _

A beam of particle energy ripped the sky apart…

Migru died…

Migruna III died…

Yoda's eyes flew open.

"Master Yoda?"

Distractedly, Yoda looked up at the apparently bewildered politician. "Leave you, I must. Urgent matters to attend to, I have."

Less than an hour later, Yoda and Rizza were onboard his Jedi Interceptor and rocketing into hyperspace toward Migruna III, the strange politician completely forgotten.


	5. Chapter 4, The Cloud of the Dark Side

**Chapter 4**

**The Cloud Of The Dark Side**

"Master Yoda, you need to explain yourself!"

"Explain myself, to the likes of you, I will not!"

Rizza stared at Yoda, wide-eyed.

The man in the hologram that Yoda glared at was handsome by human standards. His graying hair was cut immaculately short, his face blemish-free and clean shaven. Broad shoulders filled his Jedi robes. A wide brown belt covered his small waist, from which hung the chrome hilt of his lightsaber. Remarkably, despite Yoda's clearly rude reaction to the man, Qui-Lek remained completely implacable.

"Yoda, we don't have to do this! What is wrong? Perhaps we can help."

"Starting the mission early, I am. Need to know more than that, you do not."

Yoda ended the transmission before Qui-Lek had a chance to respond. He tossed the portable holotransceiver back into the cockpit of the ship and walked into the holding area. He looked at Rizza for a moment and tears welled in his eyes. Yoda bit them back and walked to the main doors, a bag slung across his shoulder. The doors lowered into a ramp that touched down on the surface of Migruna III. Yoda started out.

"Tell my mother, we should." Her voice was a whisper. Yoda kept walking down the ramp onto the soft earth, as if he hadn't heard her. It was early morning in Prime Village. The suns were still below the horizon and the light was just beginning to break. A thick fog lay low on the ground and the fresh smell of the dirt, wet with the morning dew, filled the air.

"Please?" Her quiet voice broke with emotion. Yoda turned to regard her.

"Do what you will." Yoda sighed, his brow knitted tightly.

He was finding it more and more difficult to use the Force to calm him. Something was encroaching on his connection with the Force. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew that it was close. It felt like a cloud in the Force—a cloud that permeated everything as surely as the morning mist. He had to penetrate the cloud.

He noticed the tears in her eyes. She was scared. He considered that it may not have been wise to explain his vision to her. Perhaps it was not wise to share his vision with the Tribal Council either. The need to comfort her washed over him but he knew that what he really wanted was for her to comfort him.

He needed to be alone.

"Meditate, I must. Go into the woods, I will. Hope, I do that in the Force, an answer exists. Your mother, contact. Stay in the Outer Rim, she must. When complete your communication is, find me. Address the Tribal Council together, we will."

Rizza walked down the ramp slowly and stood in front of him. Her eyes were wide as she looked into his. "Scared, I am."

Yoda nodded and turned his back to her. He began walking into the woods. Before long, only a dark silhouette remained in the murky wisps of white.

Rizza cried.

"Fear leads to the dark side." Yoda's voice boomed from the impenetrable haze. Rizza's nod didn't stem the tide of tears that flowed from her eyes. She stared at the space where Yoda had entered the mists until even the shadow of his form faded from sight. She then wiped her eyes and trekked up the ramp.

* * *

He couldn't feel the stump beneath him. The customary pressure on his legs didn't register in his brain. He no longer smelled the fresh morning air. He didn't experience the damp sensation of the fog as it lapped against his skin. His eyes were tightly shut. His breathing was so deep and slow that the rising of his chest only occurred once or twice a minute.

Yoda was deep in meditation.

When Yoda used the Force to aid him in his meditations, the entire world faded around him. His mind connected with the vast flowing waters of the Force. Normally, he allowed the currents to take him to whatever destination the Force deemed worthy.

Not today.

Yoda powered his way through the Force. Every path he took brought him to a barrier. Every tributary was dammed by an unknown power. Yoda wailed against the blackness, but could not get through. Floating in the Force, next to the largest barrier to his probes, Yoda began to panic. It was cold. It was the same cold he had felt every time he heard the voice. The harder he pounded on the barrier, the stronger it seemed to become.

He wasn't strong enough.

With absolute certainty in the Force, he knew. The knowledge he sought was on the other side of the obstruction in the Force. He had to get to it. He had to save Migruna III.

_How can I not be strong enough?_ he thought.

_Because, Yoda, where you limit yourself, I do not. I will always be stronger._

"No!"

Yoda's eyes went wide in a flash. The sensations of the world flooded into him with sudden intensity. Sweat poured from his brow and his hands trembled. His lungs desperately tried to pull air into his harried frame. His heart pounded against his chest.

_Fear leads to the dark side…_

"I wish you would stop talking like that, Rizza!"

Only Yaddle's head floated in the space above the holoemitter. Rizza smiled inwardly at the thought that her mother managed to find a way to look down at her sternly despite being a hologram. Rizza stared at her mother's smooth green skin and marveled at how unlike they were.

She frowned.

"Speak, I do, like all migru. Same as Yoda."

"Yoda is overly sentimental and can't help trying to be like all the other migru! Why he won't accept that he wasn't raised as a migru is beyond me."

"Ashamed, you are, of where you come from?"

"Don't be silly, Rizz! Of course I'm not ashamed. I just don't see the point in pretending."

"Pretending, he is not! Lived among the migru for one-hundred years, he did. Only natural, it is, that identify with our people, he does."

"I think he does it to make himself seem unassuming. Like a simpleton."

"Mother. Please." Rizza sighed. The argument was not new. Her mother was obsessed with fitting in the rest of the galaxy and Rizza, like Yoda, cherished her uniqueness. "My friend he is."

"Fine. I won't discuss it any further." Yaddle's eyes narrowed into thin slits. She looked at Rizza for a long moment. "Wait. There's something you're not telling me."

Rizza stared at her mother for a long time. "Love him, I do."

"No, you don't!" Yaddle's voice went up an octave. Her eyes lit with irritation. "You're infatuated with him, at best." She sighed. "I admit that Yoda's attractive. I know what it's like. Gandol seemed pretty attractive at the time to me, too. But Rizz…it won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because he's old. Because he's a Jedi. Because no matter how infatuated he becomes with you, he'll never really love you. He will always be a Jedi, first and foremost."

Rizza's eyes narrowed. She swallowed. "To talk about Yoda, called you, I did not," she whispered.

Yaddle's eyes widened. "Then what is it, Rizz?"

For the first time since the conversation started, Rizza raised her head and stared across the galaxy into her mother's eyes. She fixed her mother with a look of steely resolve.

"Migruna. In danger it is."

**

* * *

**

"My mother, speak to you, she would."

Yoda glanced up at Rizza from his seat on the stump. His face was inscrutable, but he clearly looked uncomfortable, as if he had just awoken from a bad dream. His discomfort was even more vivd in the Force. Often, when she tried to perceive Yoda in the Force, she was unsuccessful. But on the rare occasion that she was able to see him, the Jedi Master was always wrapped in a sphere of pristine blue energy. Her mother's aura, by contrast, was always much smaller and never as crisp.

He was different now. Although his outward appearance was impassive and calm, in the Force, tongues of blue fire roiled about him chaotically. There was no steady rhythm to the pulsing energy surrounding him. Within the blue pyre, red flickers of flame flitted into existence momentarily, only to be snuffed out by their blue brothers. Rizza's eyes widened at the sight.

"What does she want?"

"Your plan. Wants to know it, she does."

"Have a plan, I do not." Yoda stood unsteadily, stretching his limbs as if waking up from a restless sleep. He stared out into the woods, allowing his gaze to wander aimlessly. The morning mists were burning off and the first of Migruna III's suns broke free of the distant mountains. A shaft of light burrowed through the trees and lit the ground in front of Yoda's feet. Tentatively, the Jedi Master knelt and put his hand into the beam of light. Yoda slowly smiled as the warmth of the sun's rays permeated his body.

"Delightful, the gifts of the Force are." His voice was low and reverent. "Truly delightful."

"Master Yoda…" Rizza stared at Yoda cautiously. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she watched Yoda let the light play against his hand as he moved it back and forth through the sun's single ray as if trying to catch the minute dust particles that danced within. Rizza's hesitation dissolved into a warm smile as she watched Yoda continue his waltz with the light. His exuberance was contagious. Suddenly, several more beams of light rocketed down and the illusion was gone.

Morning on Migruna III fully broke through the trees.

Yoda stood, his smile gone.

"Go to the Tribal Council, we will." Yoda walked decisively to Rizza. She no longer saw any hint of red flames surrounding the Jedi Master in the Force. He stopped in front of her and stared into her eyes. Gently, he raised his hand to her cheek as if caressing a delicate flower that might break apart in his grasp. Rizza's appreciative smile slowly waned.

"My mother?"

"Speak to her, I will." Yoda frowned and placed a hand on his chin. "Suppose, I do not, that taught you to build a lightsaber, she did hmmm….?"

"No. Not ready for the responsibility, convinced she was. Have my crystal, I do, thought."

"Good. Speak to the Council, we will. Your mother address next. Then…a weapon you will create."

Rizza smiled excitedly. Yoda did not.

Rizza's smile evaporated as quickly as it had formed. She looked into Yoda's eyes and saw nothing but concern. Wrinkles had formed in his leathery skin along his brow. She hadn't noticed it until now. "Master Yoda, what is it?"

"Unconcerned, you seem to be, about why. Learn, you must, to seek answers. _Why_ are we here? _Why_ a disturbance in the Force, on Migruna III exists? _Why,_ about your lightsaber, does Master Yoda ask? To be a Jedi, ask _why_, you must!"

Rizza nodded, frowning.

Yoda turned to exit the woods.

"Master Yoda?"

"Hmmm….?"

"Why about a lightsaber, do you ask?"

Yoda stopped and looked up into the trees as if searching for patience. After a moment, he looked forward and began trudging through the soft earth. He called over his shoulder.

"Afraid you will need it, I am."

* * *

Gandol's face was stern.

From anyone else, Yoda's report would have been met with condescension and bemusement—it was Gandol's way. From Yoda, however, the news resulted in a look of concern.

They were friends, first and foremost. Yoda often marveled at how much the two had seen their world change over the centuries…

"Destroying our world, this technology is," Yoda would say. The argument was always the same.

"Changing us, not destroying us, it is," Gandol always replied.

"Destroy the planet's beauty, it will!"

In those moments, Gandol would often take Yoda by the arm and quietly lead him to the top of the tallest hill they could find. The two migru would stand there in silence listening to the wind and watching the sky. The moment would always end with Gandol's confidence.

"Millions of years, this beauty has stood. Only a fraction of that time experienced it, I have. In those short years, more beautiful our planet has grown. When gone I am, live on she will. Change this, lights and ships can not. Convinced, I am, forever beautiful, Migruna will be."

Yoda frowned at the realization that Gandol had been wrong…

"Expect from us what exactly, Yoda?"

"Evacuate," Yoda replied simply.

"Evacuate?" Taru stood and hobbled forward, his walking stick clunking against the wooden platform of the Tribal Council floor. "Evacuate? Ridiculous!"

Yoda waived his hand dismissively without turning to acknowledge Taru. The old minister was instantly hoisted into the air and thrown unceremoniously back onto his stump. "Say no more, you will."

"Say no more, I will." Taru replied mechanically, his eyes glassy.

"Yoda!" Gandol stifled a laugh. "This is serious!"

"Yes, Gandol! Serious, it is! My point precisely, you make! Insignificant, the power you see is, compared to the terror in my visions."

Yoda's voice was firm but his pleaded with his eyes. Gandol regarded Yoda impassively. The other ministers began murmuring amongst themselves. Yoda cast them sidelong glances and began to realize that they didn't believe him. He searched their thoughts in the Force and found nothing but confusion, distrust, and…fear? _They were afraid of him!_

"Fear _me_, you should not! Save you all, I would. My counsel, you should take!"

Gandol eyed the room, canvassing the gathered migru leadership. Their grumbling grew. The ministers shifted in their seats uncomfortably. Yoda shook his head as his large ears picked up their pointless whispers. Gandol straightened in his seat and fixed his eyes on Yoda.

"Thank you, Master Yoda." Gandol's raised voice quieted the room. "At an end, this meeting is. Discuss our options at our next meeting, we will."

"But—"

"Master Yoda! Respect the decisions of this Council, you must!" Gandol's tone brooked no further argument.

Yoda balled his fists so tightly that his green knuckles grew white under the strain. His mouth drew into a tight grimace, but Yoda focused his efforts on relaxing his furrowed brow. Closing his eyes tightly, he reached out into the Force and dragged the energy into him with all of his might. A moment later, his fists uncurled and his grimace relaxed.

"Of course," he whispered finally.

Gandol stood and smiled. "Ministers. Return to this subject, we will, when next we meet."

The ministers rose and filed quietly out of the tree-house. Yoda remained rooted to his position and Gandol stood solemnly. When the last of the ministers exited, Yoda looked up at Gandol and opened his mouth. Gandol raised a hand to silence him.

"Rizza!" Gandol called out. "Come. Concern you too, this conversation does."

Rizza poked her head into the doorway and looked at the back of Yoda's head. The Jedi Master did not turn, but instead stared fixedly at a knot in one of the floor boards. She hesitated for a brief moment before she slid into the room.

"I am sorry, Yoda," Gandol whispered softly. "Accomplish nothing, you would, if continued on your path you did."

"Fools!" Yoda snapped. He glared up at Gandol, his eyes burning with anger.

"Yoda! Listen to yourself! Unlike you, this is!"

Rizza tentatively reached out and touched Yoda's shoulder. When he didn't recoil, she let her hand rest there. "Yoda," she whispered. "A lot to ask, evacuation is. Understand the Force, all migru do not." She paused, lowering her voice even more. "Considered, have you, that no danger, there is?"

Yoda glared at her.

Gandol stepped forward and looked down at Yoda with compassionate eyes. "Yoda, understand how this sounds, you must. No enemies, the migru have. No power known, destroy a planet can. No evidence, you have. Evacuate a planet on this, I cannot."

Yoda turned from Rizza and stared at Gandol. They looked intently into each others' eyes for several long moments.

Yoda broke the gaze and sighed. "Right you are, of course," Yoda said. "Know what to do, I do not. Frustrating, it is. Danger there is, but understand it, I do not! Who? What? Why? More questions than answers, I have."

"Investigate those questions, you should." Gandol's voice was gentle and calming. There was no condescension. Yoda smiled in appreciation. "In the mean time, send several migru ambassadors to other planets, I will. Learn other cultures, we migru should. Expect, I do, that several years of absence this assignment will take."

Yoda's stern face lightened. He nodded at his friend, turned and walked to the open doorway. He stopped at the threshold and looked out at the green vista of Migruna III. He felt Rizza and Gandol stares as they watched him closely.

Beyond the Jedi Master, the roiling green hills of Migruna III stood tall in the distance. The trees swayed gently in the cool breeze and the birds chirped a symphony in celebration of the planet's beauty.

"Thank you," Yoda called over his shoulder. A deep breath, and he leapt off the balcony.

"You're welcome, old friend," Gandol replied after a moment. Rizza hooked her arm in her father's. She leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek. Gandol smiled weakly. "Worried about him, I am," he said.

"I know," Rizza answered. "Trust him though, I do. Our best interests, he has."

"Yes. But in _his_ interests, my worry lies. Know little, I do, about this dark side you speak of. Told me, your mother did, that to this dark side, fear and worry lead. If true this is, too close to the darkness, my friend Yoda is becoming."

"Scared, he is. To save a world, much to ask of oneself it is. Save it when unknown the danger is…

"Look after him, Rizza."

"The best I can, I will do."

"More than that, no one can ask."

**

* * *

**

"I'm not sure why you would think I would leave a Council-ordered mission in the first place!"

"Assumed, I did, that concerned you might be." Yoda's face did not hide his contempt for Yaddle's exasperation. His jaw was set and his mouth moved only enough to utter his words through gritted teeth. "Clearly mistaken, I was."

"Don't be like that, Yoda." Yaddle's face softened and her voice lowered.

"_Master_ Yoda, Jedi Yaddle. Earned the title, I have."

Yaddle's lips drew tight but she only lowered her eyes and nodded. Yoda frowned at the realization that he had just chastised Yaddle for the same thing that Taru loved to complain about.

"Of course, Master Yoda. Forgive me." She raised her chin and looked Yoda in the eyes through their HoloNet connection. Yoda nodded and smiled weakly.

"Taught Rizza well, you have. More advanced than most padawans, she is."

Yaddle's eyes widened momentarily. A thoughtful expression crossed her face before she broke into a smile.

"Thank you, Yoda. But I can't really claim credit. Rizza left my side nearly fifty years ago. I had taught her what I could but she didn't seem to be grasping everything very well. It was why I never allowed her to make a lightsaber, although she constantly requested it. She planned on returning to Migruna III after touring some ruins she found interesting in the outer rim systems. Clearly, she's been working hard in the intervening years to earn such high praise from you."

Yoda's hand went to his chin as he knitted his eyebrows in contemplation. "Impressive, indeed, she has become. To learn such skill on her own, amazing it is. Rudimentary her technique is. But sound, her efforts are. Easily trained, she will be. Proud of this accomplishment, you should be, Yaddle."

"I am. Thank you Master Yoda." She smiled as Yoda nodded in response. "What are you planning to do, exactly?"

"Unclear, my path is. Difficult to say, how imminent the danger is. Across the galaxy, several migru will go. If come to pass, my dream does, save our culture we will."

"And what about you? Assuming that your premonition holds true, what do you hope to accomplish there? From what Rizza described to me, it seems that there is nothing you can do if the attack occurs. What if you're unable to intercept the attacking force soon enough? Perhaps you should consider evacuating yourself."

Yoda's breath caught in his chest. He glared at Yaddle with widening eyes. "Leave Migruna III?"

"Yoda, if something does happen with you on the planet, what would happen? You're too valuable to the Order to allow yourself to be killed needlessly."

Yoda's jaw dropped several centimeters, his mouth forming a perfect circle. Slowly he brought his mouth closed and narrowed his eyes, a look of determination building.

"The same as theirs, my fate will be! Yoda out."

* * *

"The heart of the blade, the crystal is."

Rizza knelt on the damp dirt floor of the darkened cave, eyes closed, deep in concentration. Her breathing was silent and steady as she manipulated the disparate parts of her lightsaber. All that could be heard in the chamber was the muted utterances of the Jedi Master who stood before her. The light from two small lanterns on opposite corners of the alcove cast dim shadows across Yoda's impassive face.

"The crystal of the Jedi, the heart is."

The green crystal settled neatly in the focusing chamber in the lower hilt of the lightsaber.

"The crystal of the Force, the Jedi is."

The upper hilt mated seamlessly with the lower hilt.

"The blade of the heart, the Force is."

Several imperceptible intricate adjustments were made inside the suspended lightsaber handle that would enable the weapon to function.

"Intertwined, all are. The crystal; the blade; the Jedi; the Force; one, you are."

Power burst from the blade that now rested in Rizza's hand and cast a green shadow throughout the cave.

"My training, begin now it will?" Rizza's eyes blinked open and stared openly at Yoda.

"Already begun, your training has."

"No. My lightsaber training."

"Trained you, I did on Coruscant. Performed well, you did."

"No. More training, I require."

"Patience."

"Master Yoda." She stood and walked with the activated blade between her and Yoda. Yoda stood his ground but scrutinized her closely. "Know I do not, how to fight as well as you. Train me you should. Prepare me. A great sword master, I wish to be!"

Yoda closed his eyes and Rizza's lightsaber sailed from her hands to lodge into the solid rock on the far side of the cave. The weapon hung in the air by its activated plasma. Sighing loudly, Yoda opened his eyes. The lightsaber deactivated and the hilt thudded on the soft earth.

"Listen to me, you will! Decide on how you are to be trained, I will." His voice softened. "No training do you require. Know that which you need, you already do." There was no anger in his eyes. His face was calm and emotionless. "Argue with me again, and no Master will you have."

Blood rushed to Rizza's face as she bowed her head respectfully.

"Forgive me, Master."

"I wouldn't throw away a perfectly good lightsaber so callously, if I were you, Yoda!"

Yoda whirled so quickly that Rizza barely recognized the motion. She never saw his lightsaber detach itself from his belt and land smoothly into his palm. Her eyes barely caught the rapid ignition of Yoda's green blade as the smell of ozone assailed her senses. Yoda stood between her and the mouth of the cave.

In that entrance stood a two-meter tall creature, legs spread and arms arched on either side, fingers twitching in anticipation. Two thick horns grew from either side of the Iktotchi's head that tapered into sharpened points just above his collarbones. His face was contorted into a look of absolute disgust.

While Yoda had met many Iktotchi in his lifetime, never had the Jedi Master seen one like this. The Iktotchi that stood before him burned with rage. All the rage was in his eyes—eyes that smoldered with the color of Migruna III's twin suns.


	6. Chapter 5, The Sith

**Chapter 5 **

**The Sith**

Cold.

Frigid winds of the Force swept across Yoda from the Iktotchi intruder. Yoda shut his eyes tight against the sensation. Breathing deeply, Yoda swallowed hard and drove the bile that threatened to erupt from his throat back into his stomach.

Yoda's lips tightened and his knuckles grew white around the hilt of his lightsaber as he opened himself to the Force. Energy poured into the Jedi Master and wrapped itself around him. The invisible power churned so fiercely that the dust at his feet began to swirl about him. Slowly, the darkness faded. Warmth spread through the Jedi Master's body and feeling returned to his finger tips.

Fiery green eyes unsealed beneath a furrowed brow.

"I've been waiting for this a long time, Yoda," the Iktotchi growled.

"Have me at a disadvantage, you do." Yoda's voice was steady and his eyes remained fixed on the creature. "Know you, I do not."

"Who I am doesn't matter, Jedi! All you need to worry about it is whether or not I'll kill your lady-friend, too."

A rustle of air accompanied Rizza's sudden movement, bringing her to Yoda's left side, her lightsaber ignited in the classic Soresu defensive stance. She set her jaw and gripped her lightsaber lightly—just as she had been taught.

Yoda's eyes widened. Rizza kept her gaze fixed on the creature that stood at the mouth of the cave.

"Find me an easy target, you will not!" Her voice was calm. Her breath was measured.

The Jedi Master regarded Rizza in the Force but could see nothing through the darkness surrounding him. Yoda frowned.

"Unwise it would be, if choose to face both of us, you do," Rizza continued, with a surprisingly confident air.

Yoda glanced sidelong at Rizza, troubled. Maintaining his concentration in the Force, Yoda nodded slightly and turned to face the Iktotchi. The creature's gaze narrowed but lost none of its intensity. His mouth drew into a tightlipped smile that spread to show his sharpened teeth.

"Brave girl, aren't you?" He raised his hand and gestured. Rocks tore free from the walls and hurtled toward the two migru Jedi.

Rizza and Yoda dissolved into a haze of green, leaping and bouncing off the boulders that flew at them. Their green blades sliced through the rocks they couldn't dodge. The Iktotchi's grin widened as the two entered the short narrow tunnel that separated the grotto from the entrance.

The sound of rock being torn asunder halted. Yoda and Rizza landed smoothly, Yoda in front with his blade angled towards the Iktotchi.

"How typical! Do you Jedi think your dancing can save you from my power!" The Iktotchi's face contorted into a look of disgust. The sound of Rizza's ragged breathing filled the air.

The creature raised his hand.

Yoda stood ready.

Rizza calmed her breathing.

The roof above them collapsed.

A muted warning in the Force, and Yoda leapt away.

Rizza was not so lucky.

"Rizza!" Yoda turned frantically, his heart pounding against his chest. He barely registered the creature's maniacal laughter. Wide eyes desperately searched the mountain of rubble.

"Rizza!"

Nothing.

Sweat formed along Yoda's palms, making them slick as he tried to pull away small rocks from the heap.

"Rizza!"

A lump formed in his throat and held his breath at bay.

"Rizza!"

His hands shook uncontrollably as he dug his nails into the dirt and rock.

"Rizza!"

"Can...not…talk…now…" The muffled sounds came from the center of the rubble.

Yoda sighed.

Resting his palms on the rocks, he bowed his head and breathed deeply, searching the rubble in the Force. He ripped through the dark wall that blocked his vision. An eon of moments later, he found Rizza kneeling in the center of the collapse, eyes closed in concentration. She held the rubble aloft around her, making a small pocket within which she was temporarily safe.

Yoda released a breath he had not realized he had been holding.

With a gesture, Yoda hoisted several large boulders from the makeshift prison that ensconced his padawan.

"Now Yoda…you don't really think I'm going to stand here and wait while you pry her free now, do you?"

Yoda sighed and the rocks hurtled into the cave, away from Rizza. He turned quietly and retrieved his deactivated lightsaber from the ground. Staring into the creature's eyes, he hooked the weapon back onto his belt.

"No. Suppose, I do, that you would not." Yoda's voice was hoarse and tight. A deep breath, and he pushed his concern for Rizza aside. With another breath, the fear returned. Yoda frowned. He knit his eyebrows in concentration and stepped forward toward the creature. "Unlike other dark side users, you are. Cold you are, where they are hot. Measured, your attack is, where act, they do, only on emotion."

"That's because you've never faced anything like me before, Yoda. I am your worst nightmare."

Yoda stalked forward at a measured pace.

"You are Sith."

The Iktotchi's eyes widened. "How could you know that?"

Yoda continued, closing the distance between them with each determined step. "Obvious, it is. Suspected I did, when first contacted me, your Master did. Use the dark side you do, but differently than all others. Clear, it is, that destroyed, the Sith were not."

The smug demeanor that the Iktotchi had maintained broke as Yoda neared the mouth of the cave. The Jedi Master was only two meters away and the Iktotchi seemed to recoil at the green flames in Yoda's eyes.

"Stay back, toad!" Fear peppered the Iktotchi's face.

Green plasma burned the air.

Yoda did not break stride.

"Rectify that situation, I will."

Red fire ignited in the creature's hand.

"I'm sure you'll try."

* * *

When a combatant faces a Master Swordsman, graceful and rapid flow of the blade is to be expected. It is natural to expect that the attacker will be smooth and unhurried. He should not expect to find openings early in the confrontation. It is imperative, however, that he not become too enamored with the display should he hope to survive the encounter.

The ballet's only purpose is to dazzle and amaze—its function, to startle and intimidate. This fact is the founding principle of Ataro. Its movements are a blur of leaps and slashes. Often, the fighter on the receiving end of Ataro is so befuddled by the speed of the attacks that he is rendered immobile, unsure of where his opponent is or from where the next assault will come from.

This was the Iktotchi's predicament.

The creature moved his blade in response to every attack that Yoda sent his way. He swung his weapon in futile desperation. He thrust wildly and found nothing but air where Yoda had been. His eyes grew wider every second as the Jedi Master overwhelmed his defenses in a haze of green.

The contest was over before it began.

"Aggghhhh!"

Blood spurted from the Iktotchi's severed horns.

The red blade fell to the ground and vanished into its hilt.

Yoda landed softly beside the kneeling creature.

"Disappointing, you Sith are. Easily defeated."

Yoda called the fallen saber to his open palm and frowned down at it.

"Chosen an interesting color, you have. No natural crystal, this color produces. Hmm…answer many questions for me, you will."

Yoda turned and headed back to the cave.

"I'll never answer any question of yours!"

Without breaking stride, Yoda grabbed the creature with the Force and threw him against a nearby bending tree. Three vines erupted from the kriva bushes beside the tree and wrapped themselves around the Iktotchi, whose horns continued to ooze blood.

"See, we shall. Persuasive, I can be."

**

* * *

**

"Rizza!"

"I am fine."

Yoda's face darkened as she stumbled out of the grotto entrance. The clash with the Iktotchi Sith had drawn him nearly a hundred meters from the mouth of the cave. Three of Migruna III's five moons began their ascent as the last vestiges of the prime sun's light slid below the mountains behind the Jedi Master. Squinting in the twilight, Yoda ran to her. The air in his lungs stuck beneath the lump in his throat. His face grew tighter with each step. As he closed the distance between them, her injuries blossomed into view.

His pulse pounded. "Rizza! Hurt, you are!"

"I am fine." She leaned unsteadily against the cave rock face.

Reaching her, Yoda paused at the sight of the rubble that had encased Rizza—the rocks and boulders were dismantled. Yoda scrutinized the damage. Gasping silently, he noticed the rocks embedded in the walls of the corridor as if hurtled at high speed.

_Truly powerful in the Force, she is,_ the Jedi Master smiled to himself.

His gaze darted from the spot and he desperately surveyed her face. The corners of his mouth drew into a tight line. A red bruise adorned her forehead and her right cheek was swollen. Her dislocated right arm hung limply at her side. Yoda's eyes stung with rage at the sight of the trickle of blood flowing from her nose. Beneath the darkening sky, Yoda's lips grew taut as he reached for her. She closed her eyes at his touch. His hand cupped her chin and he ran his thumb gently over the bruises and swelling, stopping at the coagulating blood.

Gently, he wiped the blood from above her mouth, silent as he regarded her red life-force on his green skin—the Sith's red blade against his green. His hand tightened into a fist. His nails dug deeply into his palm, drawing blood. Muscles tightened throughout his body. A whisper in the distance told him to call on the Force to bring him calm. Instead, Yoda allowed the tension he felt in his body to extend along the part of his mind that kept the Iktotchi tied to the bending tree.

Rizza smiled lovingly up at him as the lines grew taut. Neither of them turned in response to the violent parting of one of the lines across the Iktotchi's chest. Neither heard the creature's screams of agony. Master and apprentice gazed at each other as more vines erupted from the nearby bushes and lashed themselves around the prisoner. Shattered ropes whipped viciously against the Iktotchi's captive body. Screams of agony filled the woods as the vines ensconced him completely, leaving only his head free.

Their lips met, and the Iktotchi bellowed as lines tightened. Their kiss deepened and the sound of straining vines was drowned out by the Iktotchi's screams.

"Your name, tell me."

Silence.

"Now!"

Yellow, bloodshot eyes glared at Yoda from beneath a furrowed brow. Congealed blood caked the creature's severed horns and stained the vines that held him. Staring intently at Yoda, the Iktotchi struggled against the vines.

Yoda sighed.

The Iktotchi bellowed with rage.

"Suggest, I do," Rizza whispered to Yoda, "A more direct approach you take."

Yoda glanced at Rizza and raised his right eyebrow.

At length, Yoda walked toward the Iktotchi, waving his hand smoothly. The nearby kriva berry bushes rustled. Yoda smiled up at his prisoner. The Iktotchi's eyes widened. Reaching into a pouch on his belt, Yoda retrieved a small flask. He opened it casually and leapt up onto the Iktotchi's shoulder.

"Drink this," Yoda demanded as he gripped the top of the creature's head and tipped the flask to his mouth. Growling ferociously, the prisoner struggled harder against his bonds and turned his head repeatedly to keep his mouth away from the flask. The corners of Yoda's mouth turned downward with each attempt. He dug his nails deeper into the Iktotchi's tender skull. Rage burning in his eyes, the Iktotchi rammed Yoda with his mutilated horns, sending Yoda sprawling back to the ground.

Yoda grunted angrily as he tried to right himself.

Rizza giggled.

Yoda glared.

"Try again, you should," she smiled.

Yoda stared at her, frustration stinging his eyes. Rizza stifled her giggles and smiled pleadingly at Yoda. He raised an eyebrow and stood. With a sidelong glance and a half-twisted smile, he leapt back onto the Iktotchi's shoulder. As he landed, more vines obeyed his call and tied themselves around the captive's head, binding it to the trunk. Yoda placed the mouth of the flask to the Iktotchi's lips again. Unable to move, the creature tightened his lips together.

Yoda's face contorted with frustration. "A suggestion, this is _not!_"

Lights exploded behind the Iktotchi's eyes as Yoda delivered a sharp punch to the base of his skull. The creature cried out in pain and sputtered. Immediately, the flask was at his lips and its contents poured down his throat. Yoda's formidable strength, aided by the Force, closed the creature's mouth tight. He struggled to keep the liquid in his mouth. Another violent punch, more powerful than the one before, forced the drink down his throat. Yoda leapt off the prisoner's shoulder and floated to the ground.

The creature glared defiantly.

"It'll make no difference, Jedi!" he spat.

After a few moments, the Iktotchi's eyes grew glassy and the yellow faded. Yoda watched impassively. Rizza limped to Yoda's side as they watched the prisoner struggle against his bonds, snarling and growling with rage and frustration. When the Iktotchi finally relaxed and looked up at the sky, Yoda smiled.

"Easier to talk to now, I think. Your name, tell me."

"Santee Winn." He answered in a sing-song voice, as if her were a child playing a game.

"You are Sith?"

"No." A smile, followed by a laugh. "No. Had you though, didn't I? No. No. No. Not a Sith. I was going to be, if I had killed you. But…you move too fast." His brows knit together as he stared down at Yoda in apparent admiration. Then the creature laughed. "Toooo fast!"

"How much kriva juice, give him, did you?" Rizza looked concerned.

Yoda's eyebrow arched high on his head.

"How many?"

Winn's face suddenly looked more confused than ever. "How many?"

"Sith!" Yoda snarled. "How many alive today, are there?"

"Oh!" Winn rolled his eyes and laughed. "Two, two, two. Always two. Two, two, two. Always two." He continued his sing-song melody. Abruptly he locked his gaze on Yoda. "Hey! How did you know that I wasn't the Master?"

"_Know_, I did not. But clear it was, given your lack of skill."

Yoda turned to Rizza. "Only two? Make sense, this does not. Destroy the Jedi, the Sith intend. Two against a thousand, bad strategy that is." He redirected his attention at the captive Winn. "Who is your Master."

"Hmmm…don't really have one, now do I?"

Yoda frowned. "Ordered you to kill me, who did?"

"Oh! Well…that's an entirely different question. I don't know. Never saw his face. Old, though. Like you. Wore a hood. I don't think he trusted me. Didn't tell me much." The creature sighed and his face grew wistful.

"His name."

"I don't know! Darth something. That's how all the Sith are named. Darth—"

The Iktotchi's eyes widened and darted desperately to Yoda. Yoda looked at him quizzically. The creature's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but no sound came out. Blood vessels on his forehead bulged and sweat poured down his reddening face. Finally, a gurgling sound escaped his lips.

"No!" Yoda screamed, enraged, and the vines ripped themselves apart.

The Iktotchi slumped.

Yoda rushed to his side, frantically pulling the creature up by the shoulders.

Eyes, devoid of life stared back at Yoda.

"NO! NO! NO!"

Rizza's voice was barely above a whisper. "Yoda…"

"NO!" Yoda howled, his head turned to the sky.

Rizza stood quietly, like the three moons above.

_When it's time for you to know my name, I'll tell you myself…_

Yoda ignored the cold that swept over him. He pounced to his feet and roared.

Migru children in Prime Village, nearly two kilometers away, huddled under their covers, wondering how an Astaak had managed to cross the oceans and enter their woods.

**

* * *

**

"I've never seen anything like this, Master Yoda."

Her voice reverberated against the durasteel chamber walls as she probed the Iktotchi's prone form. Eyes focused intently on the creature, she quietly placed the oblong instrument she held onto the medical tray by her side. Leaning over the body, she palpated along the flesh of the Winn's neck with her long, thin fingers. She hissed softly between tightened teeth.

"What is it?" Yoda asked, wearily. The Jedi Master leaned against the wall, legs crossed, head down, and massaged the bridge of his nose. Silence. Yoda glared at the lithe young woman who continued to probe the neck muscles of the dead Iktotchi. "Master Arlo! The problem state, or discuss it we can not!"

She snapped her head up and looked directly at Yoda. Surveying him with curious eyes, she straightened and removed her gloves.

"I've only been a Jedi Healer for ten years, Master Yoda," she sighed. She picked up the oblong probe with an air of distraction and examined the glowing data that scrolled by. "Perhaps you should have requested someone more experienced that I."

"Closest available Healer, you were." Yoda bent his head again and rubbed his temples with both hands. "Irrelevant it is. Your findings, report."

"Of course." Placing the probe back on the tray, she walked around the gurney and leaned against the side in front of Yoda. "Obviously his trachea was crushed, which was the proximate cause of death."

"Told you as much, I did." The Jedi Master did not look up. He withdrew his hands from his temples and interlaced his fingers in front of him, bringing his hands to rest on his thighs.

"Yes, you did. What you didn't mention was that the bones in his neck were also crushed."

Yoda nodded. "Suspected as much, I did. A theory, you have?"

"Well, that's the puzzle isn't it? There are no bruise marks on his neck to indicate that anyone strangled him through physical contact. In fact, the muscles in his neck are completely unaffected. It's almost as if someone reached inside him and grabbed just his neck and trachea and squeezed. You said that no one touched him?"

"Touched him, no one did." Yoda's voice cracked.

"You believe this was done by a Force-sensitive?"

"Convinced of that…I am."

"That seems unlikely."

Yoda lifted his head slowly and regarded her with a raised eyebrow. Worry lines formed on Alro's face as she looked into his eyes. Yoda frowned. His eyes stung every time he opened them. He remembered the image he had seen in the river earlier as he had washed his face. His eyes. Myriad branches of blood vessels spread around his now-pallid irises.

Yoda struggled to keep the irritation out of his voice. "Unlikely? Why say that, do you?"

She sighed. Reaching across the body with casual grace, Master Arlo retrieved her probe as she spoke. "It would take a measure of control over the Force that I've never seen or even heard of. We healers have been working on that degree of Force control for centuries and have never come close to attaining it."

"Destroy, this attacker did, not create."

"I'm not sure I see your point, Master Yoda."

"See it, you should. Far easier, it is, to destroy than to create. Of the dark side, this attack was. The attacker, close by he is."

"What makes you say that?"

"Powerful, this attacker is, but see his target, he must. Attacked from the shadows, we were. Sense him now, I do not. But sense, I do, that remain here to admire his work, he will."

Arlo walked up to Yoda and moved the device in her hands up and down his frame. She frowned as messages played across the screen. "When was the last time you slept, Master Yoda?" Her face grew stern. "The question is not rhetorical."

Yoda looked up at her and grimaced, eyes burning with anguish. Convinced he looked as tired and haggard as he felt, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, calling on the Force. Energy poured into his diminutive frame and he felt the currents smooth his features. Opening his eyes again, he glared up at the Jedi Healer. His voice was unbending. "Fine, I am. Of no concern to you, my rest schedule is."

"I beg to differ, Master Yoda." Her stare was uncompromising. "I'm a Jedi Master Healer, and I can order you to bed if I think it's necessary. I can't have you running around with no sleep." She let the words linger for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "I'll ask again. _How long has it been since you slept?_"

Yoda held her gaze for a moment, and then sighed. "Slept, I did, before the Iktotchi died."

Arlo's mouth dropped open. "Yoda! That's almost four nights ago!"

"Rest, I will, when available, the time comes."

"No. I think you will rest now."

"Rizza. How is she?"

"Changing the subject won't change my order, Master Yoda." She looked at him with exasperation. Yoda returned the stare, unblinking. She threw her hands in the air and turned away, sighing. "She's fine. Most of her injuries had healed rather nicely by the time I examined her. You did a fine job putting her shoulder back into place. The time she spent in my bacta tank did her wonders. Right now, all that's left is a slight bruise on her right cheek that should be gone in a day or so."

Yoda nodded. "Good. Good. Meditate, I will. Rejuvenating that is. Meet your intent, that will?"

She turned at looked down at him again, her face stoic. "I suppose. But meditation won't replace sleep, Yoda. You need to get rest. Your anxieties will only be exacerbated by exhaustion."

"Understood."

Yoda pushed himself away from the wall and walked to the medical ship's bay door. Her voice stopped him as he stepped onto the ramp.

"Yoda, please. Get some rest."

"Rest I will, when sleep without dreams, I can."

* * *

_Fire… _

The sky ripped asunder…

Migruna III burst into flames…

Yoda tightened his fists and breathed deeply. The currents of the Force swarmed about him. Sweat poured from his head as he drove the image from his mind. The inferno and the cries of agony that accompanied it faded.

He released the air in his lungs. He pulled the Force into him with a new breath of air and directed its energies to rejuvenate his body. The soothing power erased the chill along his spine. The beads of sweat ebbed and his hands relaxed.

_Good. Very good, Yoda. You are learning…_

A frigid deluge in the Force swept through him. The Jedi Master bowed his head slightly and barreled through the sensation. He erupted from the icy depths, unfazed. A satisfied smile played across his lips. Yoda opened his eyes and stood with aplomb.

"A new trick, find you must, if hope to intimidate me you do."

Silence.

"Your apprentice, untrained he was. Sent him to die, you did." Yoda's voice was calm and steady. He placed both his hands behind his back and waited.

_Winn would never have been a Sith. He was…unworthy. But his death was…regrettable.  
_  
"What do you want?"

_So impatient! Aren't you Jedi supposed to live for patience?_

"Of Migruna III's fate, what do you know?"

_Only that all things die, Master Jedi. Only that all things die…_

Yoda tightened his fist. Concentrating, he kept his face impassive. "Your role in her death, explain."

_A more appropriate question, Master Jedi would be "What is_ **your** _role in her death?"_

"Yoda?"

Yoda whirled around, facing the doorway. Rizza stood in the arch, her face full of concern. Tentatively, she stepped into the room. The creaking boards echoed in the silence. Yoda dropped his head and sighed.

"Interrupt my meditation, you did."

"Talking, you were." She cast her eyes about the barren room. "But alone, you are."

"Need me, you did?"

"My father, speak to you, he would."

Yoda strode to the door, eyes directly ahead as he walked past her. "Keep him waiting, we should not."

* * *

As Yoda climbed the ladder to Gandol's home, he heard an animated conversation between Gandol and an off-worlder. Yoda paused at the top rung, tilting his head to listen in.

"To triple, the order, difficult it would be."

"I understand that, Gandol. And I'm prepared to commit whatever resources you need to help you get it done. But the fact of the matter is that I'm running up on a deadline now. To make matters worse, I may not be in a position to get any more in the foreseeable future. This planet being the only source of cadrinium that I've been able to find, I need to make sure I have a sufficient supply."

"Very little left, there is. Mine it we will. Be ready for your shipment, we will."

"Excellent. On another note, do you know if he's on his way?"

"My daughter, I sent. Arrive soon, he will."

Yoda stepped onto the platform and walked into the room. His eyes went wide. Standing in front of Gandol was a tall, elegant man covered with a dark cloak of armorweave. His smooth brown hands clasped neatly behind his back, the politician turned smoothly and regarded Yoda with a smile.

"Master Yoda! Wonderful to see you again. Small galaxy."


	7. Chapter 6, Dorran Kaine

**Chapter 6**

**Dorran Kaine**

"I must admit, Yoda, I'm rather surprised you've agreed to talk with me."

"Curious, I was, as to what you wanted."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it was nothing in particular. I just thought it would be wonderful to spend some time with you. It's not every day you get to partake of the wisdom of a Jedi Master as venerable as yourself."

"Time, a great teacher is."

"With time and knowledge, true wisdom can be found."

Yoda walked with smooth strides beside the tall elegance of Dorran Kaine. The politician moved with a quiet grace that brought an unexpected smile to Yoda's face. With each step, the pair traveled farther down the dirt pathway leading to the pond which was lit by the warm orange glow of Prime Sun's setting light. Yoda regarded Kaine with an upturned gaze from the corner of his left eye, admiring the man's quiet demeanor. Nothing was unkempt. The dark brown armorweave cloak was the finest in the galaxy. Tall black boots glinted under the sun's gaze. Yoda turned his gaze forward and shook his head quietly.

"I understand you ran into some trouble here recently." Kaine's baritone was a musical accompaniment to the mellifluous chirping of the nocturnal insects, slowly rising from their daylong slumber.

"Hardly trouble, he was," Yoda chuckled. "Deepened my mystery, he did, but trouble, he was not."

"Now _that's_ surprising."

"That no trouble he was?"

"No, not at all. I have always known that there are none who can hope to stand up to _you_, Master Yoda." Kaine looked down at the Jedi Master with an admiring smile. "No…what's surprising is the sound of your laugh. You seemed so troubled when last we met. And I understand from Gandol that you haven't quite been yourself these last few days."

Yoda stopped and watched the politician continue for several steps before he too, came to a halt. Yoda brought his hand to his chin as he formed a contemplative frown on his face. "Hmm…Indeed. Smiled, I have not, in some time. Interesting it is, that make me smile, you can."

Kaine smiled with a bowed head. "I could certainly not hope to take credit for your pleasure, Master Jedi. But if I have played any role in bringing even a small smile to your face, then I am honored."

Yoda tore his gaze from the dark-skinned Korun diplomat and stared out at Migruna III's distant mountains, framed by the orange and purple sky. His breath caught at the sight of Migruna III at sundown. Wisps of clouds painted with the dark hues of dusk were scattered across the sky. Yoda closed his eyes, smiling. "A good idea, this walk was," he whispered.

They continued their walk down the darkening path.

"What have you done with your victim?"

Yoda cast a sidelong upward glance at Kaine but didn't halt. "My victim, hmm? An interesting choice of words, you make."

"Oh I meant no offense, Master Yoda!" Kaine's face whitened and he appeared to struggle to find his next words.

"Apologize, you need not."

"Did you kill him, Master Yoda?"

Yoda froze and faced the diplomat. Tilting his head skyward, eyes closed, the Jedi Master breathed deeply, clenching his fists. Kaine stopped and regarded Yoda with a pained expression on his face. Yoda lowered his head slowly and opened his eyes, with a fierce expression fixed on his companion. "Insulting, your question is."

"Again, I am sorry, Master Yoda. Surely, you know that I wouldn't presume to judge you even if I could. It seems to me, from what I've heard, that you would have been supremely justified had you done the deed."

"Kill him, I did not." Yoda forced his voice through tightened lips.

"It was an unseemly question, and I apologize."

Yoda nodded. With a deep breath, he unclenched his fist and forced a weak smile. "Accepted, your apology is. Some leeway, I should give, to Migruna III's chief investor." The smile grew more genuine.

The Korun looked at Yoda warily before composing a large smile of his own. "Thank you, Master Yoda."

Yoda nodded and resumed his walk. Kaine hung behind and stared at the sky before rejoining Yoda. They walked together as the sounds of nocturnal creatures rose from the woods. Rustling rodents and whistling bats started their nightly ballet of predator and prey.

Arriving at the edge of the pond, Yoda moved ahead and bent low to pick up a smooth pebble from the bank. He watched as Kaine joined him in reverent silence. Yoda smiled, arching a brow as he turned his attention to the smooth pond that reflected the emerging stars above.

"Impressed, I am." The Jedi Master's voice was scarcely above a whisper. "Respect, you do, quiet moments."

Kaine nodded.

Yoda threw the pebble across the pond with a flick of his wrist. The stone skipped repeatedly, creating ripples that spread with each passing moment. Yoda eyed the stone's path as its progress slowed.

A touch of the Force, and it danced across to the other embankment. Yoda smiled as the first of the generated waves lapped the shore. With a firm face, he nodded and turned slowly to gaze up a Kaine with expectant eyes. Kaine looked puzzled as his eyes flicked from Yoda to the pond and back. Yoda glanced at the water and tilted his head toward the pond, smiling softly. Yoda's eyes widened as Kaine looked back at the once-still water and seemed to finally take notice of the ripples flowing from one end of the pond to the next. Edges of circles crashed into other circles as wave fronts collapsed and strengthened in seemingly random patterns. Kaine's face relaxed and he nodded.

"Amazing how much chaos one little stone can bring," Kaine smiled.

"Or beauty," Yoda replied as he walked to a large boulder and climbed atop it. He sat and pulled a knee up under his chin.

"You know, if you had killed that creature, there would be no consequence."

"Oh…?" Yoda raised an eyebrow.

"Well, the Jedi are special under the law, aren't they? The Jedi can execute with impunity. The law has allowed this since that conflict the Jedi had with that group of darksiders, has it not?"

"More than mere 'conflict', the Sith War was. On the brink of extinction, the Jedi Order was. Gave us tools to fight and win, that law did."

"Of course, of course! I was merely pointing out that even today, if a Jedi were to abuse his position, he could legally kill just about anyone he wanted to with no repercussions."

"Of the dark side, such actions would be. Discover him, we would, and stop him."

"But how would you know? With all the far-flung worlds you Jedi visit, how could you possibly sense the actions of one or two Jedi who have gone astray?"

"Sense the dark side, we can."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Kaine placed his hands behind his back and pursed his lips in a contemplative frown. "If this hypothetical wayward Jedi were to hide himself from you, what would you do then?"

Yoda looked out at the water, his eyes suddenly stinging. "The cadrinium, for what use it, do you?" Closing his eyes, Yoda pulled the Force into him and drove energy throughout his body. The tired pain slid away, and he opened his eyes to smile at Kaine.

Kaine watched Yoda intently, then slid slowly away from the bank. "Aside from the very expensive jewelry that I use it to make? Well, it actually has some rather interesting energy focusing properties, not unlike the crystals you use in your lightsabers. I'm working on a project or two to harness that quality and hopefully make me very, very rich."

"Interesting. A large project, this must be, if so much cadrinium you require."

"Oh…it's a long-term project, you understand. I doubt I'll perfect it in my lifetime. But, who knows? Maybe in a century or two, my family can reap the benefits. For now, I'll be happy to have a working prototype."

"What deadlines then, spoke of you did with Gandol?"

"Ahhh…you overheard that did you? You don't miss much. Well, I'm afraid, Master Yoda that's somewhat classified." He smiled wryly, looking out at the water as the ripples finally died and the pond became perfectly still. "Looks like your disruption finally went away."

"Hmm…?" Yoda looked out at the water and sighed. "Yes. Return to normal, all things do."

"You never answered my question, Master Yoda. What did you do with the creature?"

"Oh?" With a distracted air, Yoda regarded the Korun. "Took him to Coruscant, Master Arlo did. Investigate his death further, the Jedi Healers will."

"Perhaps that will shed some light on what happened to him."

"Hope so, I do." Yoda stood on the rock and stared up at the plethora of stars peppering the dark sky. "It's late," he whispered and jumped down unto the ground. "Return home, we shall. Get some sleep, I will. Doctor's orders, they are."

Yoda walked back toward the path and Kaine joined him. "Do you know what you would need to do if you wanted to make an everlasting impression on that pond, Yoda?"

"Hmmm…?"

"Use a much larger rock!"

The pair laughed quietly and continued on the path together.Chapter 6 continued

**

* * *

**

_Fire. _

Screams.

Agony roared above the din as migru children burned…

Flames erupted in every corner of Prime Village. Bending trees fell, delivering their fruit to the charred ground for the last time. Migru women cried out desperately for their lost children as the inferno engulfed their cowering frames…

The emerald beam of particle energy stopped…

Migruna III continued to burn…

Yoda! Help us!

Yoda! Where are you?

Yoda…

"Yoda!"

His eyes flew open as he jolted up in his cot. His sweat-drenched hair clung to his skin as his wide-eyed stare darted about the room. The drumbeat in his chest ached. Yoda lifted a hand to his brow to smooth his hair when he noticed the uncontrollable quivering of his hand. Transfixed, he stared at the random vibrations. The urge to accept his state grew overwhelming.

"No!" His voice echoed in the large room, but Yoda barely heard it.

Closing his eyes, he envisioned his hand in the Force. Once shrouded in the balmy blue of the light side of the Force, he reeled inwardly at the red flames he saw covering his skin, obscuring everything. Drawing his brow tight in concentration, the Jedi Master whispered to the air, and the light side of the Force rushed into him like a mineral spring. Power swirled and floated about him. Smiling, Yoda swam in the calming energies as they washed away the terror that threatened to sweep him away. Yoda opened his eyes.

His hand was still.

Nodding, he brought the hand to his brow, smoothed his matted hair, and sighed. He looked to his left and noticed Rizza's face, etched with concern, her mouth agape. Forcing a smile, Yoda extended his hand to her and she joined him on the bed. She sat beside him, her steady breathing a center of calm. Yoda looked out through the open doorway and relished the sight of the morning suns bathing Prime Village's trees. Closing his eyes, he smiled at the sound of the whistles and chirps of the birds leaving their nests.

"Another dream?"

Yoda kept his eyes closed as his smile evaporated. His throat felt parched and cracked. Painfully, he swallowed before speaking with a raspy voice. "Yes. More insistent, they become."

"Considered, have you, that protect Migruna, you cannot?"

Yoda winced. He opened his eyes, squinting against the light. Twisting around slowly on the cot, Yoda pulled his legs under him and struggled to his feet. Setting his jaw, he drew his hands behind his back and walked to the doorway, his eyes fixed on the cloudless sky. He looked at the wooden archway, seamlessly enmeshed with the tree it was built into, focusing on the tiny imperfections that ran throughout. Reaching out, he placed his hand tentatively on the tree and brushed his palm against a gnarled knot in the wood.

"Ancient, I feel. For centuries, a Jedi I have been. Known, I have not, why chosen for me, this path was." His hand lingered on the circle of dark wood, surrounded by the healthy tree as he hung his head. His voice grew muffled behind his arm. "Understand now, I do, why forbid attachments, the Jedi do."

He listened distantly to Rizza's footsteps against the wood floor. Warm currents flowed through him as he felt her hand rest gently on his shoulder. With great effort, he raised his head and looked into her eyes. She looked up at where his hand was rooted to the knot of wood. With a smile, she placed hers on his. Yoda marveled at how seamlessly her brown skin melted into the color of the tree.

"Pain, attachments bring," she whispered into his ear. "Let go of them, we must, if hope to find peace we do."

Yoda nodded and hung his head again.

"Have each other, we do Yoda. Nothing more, do we need."

* * *

"Fine we will be, Yoda! Go!" His friend's face was joyous as he spoke. Yoda smiled. "And with you, my daughter take!"

Yoda chuckled and grasped Gandol on both shoulders. "A great friend, you are. In one week, return I will."

"I'm sorry, Master Yoda, but we really must get going." Dorran Kaine's face seemed full of concern as he glanced at Yoda and then at Rizza. "I appreciate you agreeing to come with me, but I cannot stay any longer."

Yoda hung his head, smiling as he glanced up at Gandol and he released his hold on his friend's shoulders. "Impatient, the young are, hmmm…?"

"Train him well, you must," Gandol laughed.

"Miss you, I will, father," Rizza announced as she pecked Gandol gently on the cheek. A soft tear rolled down her cheek.

"Think, you would, that return you will not!" Gandol laughed boisterously as he grabbed Rizza around the waist and hugged her tightly. "Go. This shipment, protect and help Migruna, you will."

"Yes, father."

"See you on the ship, I will." Yoda smiled. "Ahead of me, go. Mr. Kaine, help."

"Yes, Yoda." Yoda raised a brow with a crooked smile. Rizza appeared embarrassed. "_Master_ Yoda." Yoda and Gandol chuckled loudly as Rizza and Kaine turned and walked up the ramp into the cargo vessel.

"Requested protection before, he never has," Gandol whispered to Yoda as they watched Rizza and Kaine disappear into the ship. He turned to Yoda, his wrinkled face contorted with concern. "Careful, you must be, Yoda. Sense, I do, that troubled you are."

Yoda looked at his friend and swallowed hard against the constriction in his throat. His eyes stung with forming tears. He looked away and back up at the ship, his gaze running along the disjointed contours of the metal coffin that would keep him safe in the cold darkness of space. There would be no beauty, save Rizza, on this trip. But he would remain alive, no less. Frowning, he turned back to Gandol.

"Leave here, you must."

"What?" Gandol's eyes widened. "About your dream, this is?"

"Yes. Unknown to me, this danger is. Unclear of its source, I am. But sense, I do, that protect you, I cannot."

Gandol nodded and placed his hands on Yoda's shoulders. "Understand your concern, I do. But leave, I will not. Shhh! Heard you, I did. Speak no more of this, we will! To the will of the Force, my fate, I leave. Do so as well, you should."

Yoda frowned. "Believe in the Force, you do not."

Gandol smiled. "True. But have to believe in it, I do not, to accept that it exists. More importantly, believe in it, _you_ do. Trust your own teachings, you should, Yoda." Gandol's face suddenly grew tight. "Or lost, you will become."

"Thank you, my friend."

"Go! Train my daughter! Respect for her elders, she must learn!"

Yoda laughed quietly as he turned to the ship. "Return to you, I will."

"Of course, Yoda! Expect less, I do not."

Yoda walked briskly up the ramp, his eyes taking in the dark interior of the ship. He paused briefly at the top and glanced back at the vista of Migruna III. He placed his hand on the cold metal surface of the ship's arch and recoiled immediately. Shaken slightly, he breathed in the morning air of his home planet. Closing his eyes, he smiled as a gentle wind blew across his face, rustling his perfectly coifed hair. As the wind died slowly away, Yoda leaned his face forward, trying to maintain contact with the fading touch of Migruna III. Finally he opened his eyes and noticed that Gandol had already left.

He stood on the metal floor, alone.

"Are you coming, Master Yoda?"

The melodious baritone brought a different smile to Yoda's face. He glanced briefly at the distant mountains and sighed.

"Yes, Mr. Kaine. Join you, I shall."

"I never had a doubt."

**

* * *

**

Exhaustion.

Yoda's glazed eyes lost focus on the bowl of pungent bending-tree stew that steamed on the metal table. He watched distantly as his numb fingers, seemingly of their own volition, contorted around the chrome spoon and dipped it into the putrid broth. With growing fascination, Yoda noted the spoon rise out of the soup, full of the green-brown liquid and clumps of softened wood. As the spoon approached his unresponsive mouth, Yoda marveled as it paused briefly as his lips, then teeth, and finally his jaws opened to accommodate the nourishment. As his mouth closed around the spoon and the stew stirred inside his mouth, Yoda frowned at the realization that he couldn't taste it at all. The entire process was for naught. Closing his eyes, Yoda noted sourly that the spoon had recommenced the journey to the bowl.

Seized by sudden fury, Yoda tightened his fingers around the spoon, gripping the handle in a tight fist.

Yoda howled and hurled the spoon against the far wall. Turning his enraged glare to the steaming bowl, Yoda envisioned the bowl joining the spoon in violent fashion and rasped as he opened himself to the Force to make his focus a reality.

Nothing.

Yoda drew his brows together and stared at the bowl more intently, focusing his considerable powers on the tiny container of stew. Infuriatingly, it continued to steam as causally as before. As blood pounded against his ears, Yoda thought back to the time he had halted a ship's uncontrolled descent with the Force. It had only required his focus and it was done. He had been calm then.

Forcing his brow to relax, Yoda breathed deeply as he opened himself again to the Force. Like a cold hand reaching into his back and grabbing hold of his spine, realization dawned.

_Gone, it is!_ his mind screamed. _Feel the Force, I cannot!_

Looking up from the bowl in panic, Yoda's wide-eyed stare darted erratically about the converted cargo hold as if searching frantically for the lost connection. An eternity of loss. Yoda's eyes finally locked on Rizza's concerned gaze from across the table. He could see her lips moving as if she were trying to communicate with him, but he could hear nothing. He glanced to his right and saw the equally concerned face of Dorran Kaine, who was also speaking wordlessly but urgently to him. Kaine's sudden strong grip on his arm brought the world into sudden, deafening clarity.

"Yoda! What is it?"

"Your face, pale it is! Frightened you look!"

Dropping his head, Yoda closed his eyes as he dragged his unwilling hands together, clasping them upon the table. Concentrating with all the skill he knew, the Jedi Master reached out for the Force. Like a static-filled holotransmission, Yoda felt stuttering twinges—connections that faded as quickly as they formed. Slowly he opened his eyes and found that his face was wet with tears. He brought a trembling hand to his face to wipe his eyes. Suddenly conscious of the concerned stares and startled questions coming from his companions, Yoda redirected his hand to the bridge of his nose and gently massaged the corners on his eyes.

"Fine, I am." Yoda was acutely aware that his voice was gravelly and tight. Confident he had wiped away any sign of his torment, he lowered his hand and looked Rizza in the eyes. Concentrating on making his voice smooth, Yoda swallowed hard, but it brought his dry throat no comfort. He pursed his lips tightly before continuing. "Tired, I must be. Rest I need. Yes…rest."

Rizza walked to his side and placed an arm around his shoulder. Yoda looked up at her and wondered at the adoration he saw in her face. Slowly, she placed her hand around his head and pulled him to her breast. Yoda felt his body relax into her warm embrace, and the tension he felt slipped away. As his muscles loosened, Rizza's hold on him tightened, until he felt completely wrapped and bound in her love.

"Rest with me, you can."

"It would seem that the meal is complete." The strong baritone echoed in the brightly lit dining area. Yoda opened his eyes and sat up. He started to respond, but Kaine raised a hand with smile. "No need to apologize, Master Jedi. I am quite sure you are under pressures I cannot fathom. We have two more days of hyperspace travel ahead of us. Why don't you and your padawan retire for the night? I will be happy to wake you both whenever you like."

"More than just a padawan, I am!" Rizza's sudden outburst caused both men to look at her askance. Her face was tight, and Yoda could see her straining to control her irritation.

"Of course, of course, Rizza!" Dorran Kaine stood regally and bowed low enough that his head almost touched the elegant chrome-plated table. "I assure you, I meant no offense. You are clearly Master Yoda's companion and friend. I should have been more careful with my choice of words."

Rizza's shoulders instantly relaxed, and she seemed to force a smile to her lips.

With an uncomfortable cough, Yoda forced a smile, frustrated with the effort it took. "More than gracious, you are, Mister Kaine. Rest, we will."

"Please, Master Yoda. I would be honored if you would call me Dorran." His smile was infectious, and Yoda couldn't help but smile in return.

"Very well, Dorran."

Struggling to his feet, Yoda placed his hands on the table and paused to observe his gnarled fingers. He frowned. For the first time in a century, Yoda noticed the dark splotches on the back of his hands. He had been dismayed the first time he saw the growing signs of age. For a week he had run around in a stupor, distracted by the idea that he was growing old. It was a youngling who had reminded him that with the Force as an ally, age only brought wisdom, not weakness.

For years he had ignored the protestations of his body. There was nothing that he couldn't do. He was the most powerful Jedi alive, and with the Force as his constant companion, there were no limits on what he could achieve. When his body objected, he simply poured more power into it. When something seemed impossible, he merely focused harder. As the memory of the youngling's words floated to the surface of his mind, he smiled weakly.

_With the Force as an ally…_ His smile faded as the words echoed in his mind. He refocused his gaze on his putrid-green crackled skin, covered with unsightly blemishes and riddled with veins. _What am I, if no connection to the Force, I have?_

"Come old man, rest you need. To bed we should go."

* * *

"Master Yoda, I see you're up. Wonderful! Care to join me?"

Yoda looked out the transparisteel viewport, taking in the sight of roiling blue clouds of energy that so resembled the familiar blue aura surrounding many Force-users when observed in the Force. Not for the first time, Yoda gazed awestruck by the majesty of the blue and white energy and wondered if there was a connection.

Yoda sighed and opened himself to the Force. As had been the case in the cabin he and Rizza slept in, Yoda could feel the Force again, but it was muted. Where he had been able to enjoy the symphonic harmony of the galaxy in the Force, now the Jedi Master could only hear distant echoes, as if standing outside the music hall. Breathing deeply, he reminded himself that it had to be psychosomatic. Whatever this problem was, he reasoned, it didn't seem to be bothering Rizza. And it also seemed to be concentrated in the dining area. Yoda resolved to avoid returning there, if possible.

Clenching his fists, Yoda stepped into the cabin as he glanced around the pilot station. Like most cargo vessels, the room was designed with function rather than form in mind. Although it was small and cramped by human standards, Yoda found the space almost cozy. Glancing up at Kaine, Yoda forced a reassuring smile, then navigated his way into the copilot chair. He grinned in spite of himself as he heard the gentle chuckle from Kaine as Yoda struggled to mount the smooth seat cushions. Finally seated, Yoda smiled unabashedly.

"Like climbing a mountain, getting in these chairs can be!"

Kaine laughed. "I supposed I never considered that." Yoda noticed Kaine's smile fade, and a look of concern spread across the diplomat's face. "How are you feeling, Yoda? Did the rest help?"

Yoda placed a contemplative finger on his lips as he gripped his chin, thinking. "Feel better, I do, if your question that is. Help, the rest did. But return to normal, I have not."

"I see. Is there anything I can do?"

Yoda smiled. "Tell me, you can, why protection for this shipment you need."

Kaine watched Yoda intently for several moments as if considering whether to try and continue the conversation that Yoda had clearly tried to stop. Finally, Kaine looked out the viewport with a smile. "Well, I'm afraid it isn't terribly interesting at all, Master Yoda. My prototype is complete, and I am at the testing phase. This last shipment of cadrinium is intended to meet the design requirements for a possible larger model should we prove successful."

"I see."

"Ordinarily, I would not require protection, of course, because the storage location for the cadrinium is quite well fortified and hidden. However, we will be visiting the prototype at Geonosis first, and that area is known to be ripe with bounty hunters and pirates. The Geonosians have come to despise the bounty hunters in particular, given their adverse impact on Geonosian trade."

"Geonosians, great builders they are, if serves me well, my memory does."

"Oh yes, indeed! I have to admit that while the basic design is mine, they are the true architects of my prototype. I hope to work with them again in the future. They are the perfect amalgam of intellectual fortitude and respectful discretion."

"A wise businessman, you appear to be. Careful, one should always be, with whom he associates."

"So true. I find that my aptitude for politics is deeply rooted in my ability to associate with just the right people."

"Wonder, I do, why join the Senate, you have not."

"Well…until recently, I thought that was not an avenue available to me." He cast a sidelong glance at Yoda. Seeming to consider his next words carefully, he continued. "I felt that circumstances were not conducive to me being able to rise to a position of authority."

Yoda regarded Kaine with a smile. "Feel, I do, that if joined the Senate you did, Chancellor you would become in less than a decade."

"Well, a decade might not seem like a long time to you, Master Yoda, but when you have far more years behind you than you have ahead of you like myself…well…a decade is a lifetime." Yoda nodded. "But I can always hope that someone in my family might one day take that position."

"The luxury of hope in children, I will never have." Yoda pulled his feet up on the chair and rested his chin on his knees. His gaze grew distant as his eyes again searched the clouds of hyperspace. "Much like children, though, my padawans are."

"I suppose that would be true. I am sure you rejoice in their accomplishments like any other parent. Of course, for you, it must be very difficult."

"Hmm?" Yoda turned his face to Kaine with curiosity. "Difficult? Very successful all my padawans have been. Quite proud of them, I am."

"No, you misunderstand me, Master Yoda. Of course your padawans have been successful. I would argue that you are being quite modest, even. From what I understand, your padawans rank among the very greatest of all the Jedi. Apparently accounts of their escapades litter the Jedi Archives! That is a remarkable achievement in and of itself. But for you to be able to accomplish this with your penchant for selecting, shall we say, the less talented of students, is even more impressive." Yoda smiled at the complement. "No, Master Yoda, I meant that it must be hard to outlive all of your students. Is that why you haven't taken a student in over fifty years? Well, before Rizza that is, of course."

"My own, my reasons are." Yoda returned his gaze to the viewport. Kaine continued to stare at Yoda. Yoda glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Admit, I will, that easier, it was, to select Rizza as a padawan. Let go of attachments, the Jedi Code requires. Difficult this is, when lose attachments as often as I, you do."

"Almost seems to me that the only safe thing is to never be attached to anything."

"Safe, yes." Yoda turned in his seat so his whole body faced Kaine. "But attachments themselves, not bad things they are. Make life worth living, attachments do. Love; friendship; nationalism; all attachments, these are. Like the freedoms we protect, in them, great power there is."

"But those very freedoms are dangerous, are they not? One could use the freedom of speech for example, to create hatred and abuse. One could use the freedoms of expression to mock the very ideals we all hold so dear. Our government is powerless to stop this sort of thing."

"In freedom of choice, true power lies, Dorran. Always, there will be, those who would seek to abuse power. Keep freedom for everyone, harder to abuse, that power is. Keep freedom in the hands of only a few, and abuse it, they will. Above all, it is freedom, we Jedi respect. Order our members to avoid attachments, we can not. Teach instead, we must, the ability to let go of attachments. Teach the masses, you politicians must, to respect the freedoms they have. Our shared responsibility it is, to teach."

"I must admit, I never considered it from that point of view."

Yoda nodded and turned his attention back to the viewport. He felt Kaine's continued stare and followed his gaze to the lightsabers on his belt.

"You kept your opponent's weapon?" Kaine's eyes widened. "A trophy?"

Yoda stood and hopped off the chair. "No. A trophy, this is not. Return to check on Rizza, I will. When arrive at our destination, your report I would like." Before Kaine could respond, Yoda walked out of the cockpit area.

* * *

"Master Yoda. Rizza. We will be coming out of hyperspace very shortly, I thought you might like to be here to see my creation appear."

Moments later, Yoda and Rizza stood in the cockpit, looking out of the viewport expectantly. Yoda smiled as Rizza took his hand and squeezed gently. Despite his muted connection to the Force, Yoda acutely felt his connection with Rizza. It was weak, as all his connections in the Force were recently, but he felt it more strongly than any other.

"Coming out of hyperspace in five seconds." Kaine was grinning in obvious anticipation.

With familiar suddenness, the clouds of energy faded, only to be replaced by streaking bands white. Then, just as abruptly, the bands of light resolved into tiny pinpricks of light. But Yoda's eyes were immediately drawn to the spectacle that filled the viewport.

Hanging in space was a behemoth spheroid ship with a large parabolic antenna built into its side. The ship was nearly five times the size of the largest cargo ships Yoda had seen. Unlike most ships of that size, Yoda noticed dourly that it had no gleaming surfaces. There were no windows, and the lights seemed as muted at his connection to the Force. As their ship grew closer to the monstrosity in space, Yoda felt a growing sense of dread fill him. The silence in the cabin deepened to a palpable hush.

Yoda's voice was cracked as he whispered as much to himself as anything. "Your creation, this is?"

"Yes…." Dorran Kaine smiled proudly, as he leaned forward with admiration in his eyes. "Magnificent, isn't she?"


	8. Chapter 7, Nightfall, Part 1

**Part II**

**_Into The Darkness…_  
**

**Chapter 7**

**Nightfall, Part I**

Yoda gripped the side of the cockpit doorway to steady himself as the ship connected to the spheroid space station with a series of unsettling metal clunks. The ship grew silent as Kaine powered down the engines. A series of loud staccato hisses erupted around the main hanger door as pressure equalized around the airlock.

"This station, explain," Yoda rasped. His heart skipped a beat at the sound of his own voice. Closing his eyes, he steadied his breathing and concentrated. His connection to the Force was still sporadic, but it was not as weak as it had been earlier. Yoda sighed with relief as he considered the possibility that the effect was not permanent.

"We'll need to sit tight for a few minutes while the decontamination protocol runs its course."

Rizza put her hand tenderly on Yoda's shoulder and fixed Kaine with stern eyes. "His question, you have not answered."

Kaine turned in his chair and faced them both. His eyes met Rizza's and they stared intensely at one another. Yoda watched the silent exchange as Rizza's hand went to her lightsaber hilt. The Jedi Master frowned and stepped between them. He cast a sidelong glance at Rizza before squaring his shoulders.

"Mr. Kaine. This station, explain. A weapon, it is?"

Kaine raised an eyebrow and smiled. He bowed his head curtly and turned to Yoda.

"I thought we agreed that you would call me Dorran," Kaine replied at length. He settled his gaze on Yoda for several long moments. When Yoda narrowed his eyes, the politician seemed to take it as an indication that Yoda was not going to respond further.

Kaine smiled.

"Yes, it is, Master Yoda. The most wonderful weapon ever designed. I call her 'the Moon of Death.'"

Yoda frowned.

Kaine seemed to notice this, and his face grew apologetic. "A trite name, I agree. But…." He sighed and turned to look out of the viewport, his hand sweeping in a wide arc as if showcasing the vast ship. "I suppose it will do for now."

"Your classified project, this is? Your prototype?"

Kaine stood and smiled warmly. "You know, I was right when I said that you don't miss much." He walked past Yoda and Rizza, bending his head slightly as he walked through the archway. Yoda turned and followed him. When Rizza didn't join him immediately, he looked back at her over his shoulder and inclined his head. Nodding, she walked behind Yoda as he pursued Kaine.

Yoda entered the converted dining room and found Kaine standing with a glass of red liquid in his hand. The Jedi Master glanced at the table and saw a bottle of wine and two empty glasses, apparently staged for his and Rizza's arrival. Yoda's frown, which had remained steadfastly on his face, deepened. He looked up at Kaine's smiling visage questioningly.

"So? What do you think?" Kaine's face was alight with apparent glee. Yoda's eyes widened in surprise. "Admittedly, you have not seen much yet, but she _is_ amazing is she not?" He stared at Yoda expectantly.

The Jedi Master looked sidelong at Rizza but said nothing.

Kaine shrugged. "I realize I have not been completely forthright with you." Kaine lowered his gaze to the floor in a contrite manner. Observing the silence briefly, he lifted his head and smiled. "We are in orbit around the planet Geonosis. I had the great fortune of developing a partnership with these interesting creatures several decades ago. They are remarkable workers and ingenious engineers. Fortunately for me, the Republic has never utilized their talents very effectively. These Geonosians are phenomenal. They create the most remarkable devices."

"Built this…weapon, they did?" Yoda stared through the cockpit doorway and out the viewport but could see nothing of the planet below. The entire view was obscured by the metal hulk to which they were attached.

"Oh, yes. They worked primarily from my designs, of course, but they have been _most_ efficient."

"The purpose of building this weapon, explain." Rizza's voice sounded uneasy.

Kaine fixed Rizza with an incredulous stare. Sighing, Kaine lowered his gaze and looked to Yoda. "I must admit, I am a little disappointed in your reaction, Yoda. I was sure you would appreciate the magnificence of this creation."

"Why are we here?" The room began to swirl. Tightening his fists, Yoda tried to connect with the Force. It felt as distant as ever.

Kaine raised his glass and moved it in a perfect arc to encompass Yoda and Rizza. "I propose a toast!" Yoda watched the drink swish in the glass warily. "To new beginnings! You, Master Yoda—and you, Padawan Rizza—are the first to learn that this prototype is fully functional! My Geonosian friends assure me that this last shipment of cadrinium along with what I have managed to collect over the last few decades will make it possible to build an entire fleet of ships just like this one!"

"Join you in your toast, we will not," Rizza interjected. She turned to Yoda with pleading eyes. "Amiss, something is."

"Master Yoda, is she not your _padawan_? She should learn her _place_! Come now, join me in a drink!" Yoda watched Kaine's smile widen as if he was enjoying a private joke. "No? Very well, I guess I will be drinking alone."

With a grand flourish, Kaine lifted the glass to his lips and emptied its contents in a single gulp. Grinning, he placed the glass on the table and walked over to where Yoda and Rizza stood. Rizza's hand found Yoda's, and she drew closer to him. He looked at her and saw the concern etched on her face.

"Disturbing, your behavior is," Yoda said as he gently pulled Rizza behind him. "Answer our questions, you do not."

Kaine stopped in front of Yoda, keeping his gaze fixed on the Jedi Master's eyes. His smile vanished. He turned his back to the pair and walked casually back to the table. Methodically, he picked up the empty glasses that he had set aside and held them to the light. His voice dropped an octave. "Refusing my offer for a drink was not wise." He put the glasses back on the table almost reverently and turned, leaning against the tabletop. "Well, I suppose what's done is done."

Yoda's hand went to his belt, and he gripped his lightsaber.

"That won't be necessary, Master Yoda." Kaine's eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth drew downward in a malevolent glare. "I find it hard to believe that either of you would choose to engage in battle, diminished as your Force-powers are."

Yoda's mouth fell open. He turned to Rizza, his heart pounding with sudden dread.

She looked at him with terror in her eyes. Her voice quaked. "Sorry, I am. Told you, I did not. Believed I did, that only in my mind it was."

Yoda closed his eyes and sighed. Lifting his hand to her face, Yoda caressed her cheek and looked into her eyes. "The same mistake, I made. No apologies, make." He looked back to Kaine. "What have you done?"

Kaine smiled. "I recently visited this wonderful planet called Myrkr…"

"Ysalamiri…" Yoda gasped. A quiet hissing noise filled the air.

"Apparently, you Jedi never visit the planet." Kaine chuckled. "Well, I couldn't help myself. I managed to come across some rather interesting creatures in my time there. There are creatures that seem to hunt Force-sensitive beings and there are others that seem to have found a way to block the Force itself. I found these latter creatures to be rather interesting. Unfortunately, removing them from their arboreal homes has the disturbing effect of killing them. Of course, if you harvest the trees themselves, you can keep them alive for some time. But even this is a temporary solution given that the trees require very specific conditions to survive."

Rizza blinked her eyes and shook her head violently as if trying to clear her mind.

The feeling of dread strengthened in him as Yoda's mouth went dry. "What…have you done?" he rasped.

"Given the limited range of their Force-blocking abilities and their relatively short lifespan, I am afraid we're going to have to move things along. I am sure you understand."

Yoda stepped threateningly toward Kaine, but the politician didn't budge. "Why? What do you want?"

Kaine laughed.

A wave of nausea churned Yoda's stomach, and immediately directed his stare at Rizza. He watched in terror as she dropped to one knee, her hand going to her head. Yoda's throat tightened, and his lungs suddenly felt starved for air. His knees buckled. Yoda's hand landed hard against the floor. His vision grew steadily cloudy as he struggled to lift his head. Kaine's voice grew distant as the Jedi Master slipped into unconsciousness.

"It is not about what _I_ want, Master Jedi…."

**

* * *

**

Yoda stirred.

A steady hum penetrated the fog of unconsciousness.

Lifting his ear slightly, Yoda tried to gauge his surroundings. His sensitive ears picked up no sounds beyond the perpetual drone of some sort of power conduit and his own breathing. Yoda arched an eyebrow as he noted sourly that he hung from his outstretched arms, bound at the wrists and ankles by uncomfortable metal shackles. With interminable sluggishness, Yoda's mind drew the conclusion that he was rotating slowly in mid-air. He frowned.

Tentatively, Yoda furrowed his brow and inhaled deeply, opening himself to the Force. Immediately, Yoda felt energy surge within him. Elated, Yoda tried to stretch out and search his surroundings. His delight immediately dampened as he realized he couldn't extend his senses beyond his own body. Something was containing his power. Deciding he had no choice, Yoda opened his eyes.

With painful brilliance, light broke through the narrow slits of his eyelids, forcing the Jedi Master to squint them shut. Tilting his head away from where it had been, Yoda willed his lids open again. Dazzling blue-white light again poured into eyes, but Yoda ignored the pain. Before long, his pupils shrank, and the Jedi Master began to discern shapes.

Raising an eyebrow, Yoda took careful note of the shackles around his wrists. They were some kind of rust-brown metallic device with a series of interlocking bolts from which azure light emanated in striated patterns. Each bolt hummed quietly. Glancing around, he saw that the blue-white currents ran along his body from above and below. In both places he noticed white orbs that seemed to be the source of the light. Irregular eruptions of static electricity between the two orbs sent tingling sensations along his skin. Yoda surmised that the combination of the bolts and orbs created some sort of Force-nullifying cage bounded by the sky-blue light. Pursing his lips, Yoda considered his options.

"Ahh…I see you're awake."

Yoda lifted his head and saw Dorran Kaine moving casually about the chamber, checking readings on computer terminals along the curvilinear walls. Squinting through the light, Yoda took in the room. He was in a control chamber. Small droids on wheels bustled about, maintaining the high-gloss obsidian floors. Multi-colored displays and lights covered the bulkheads. Kaine stood before a large deactivated viewscreen that was seamlessly integrated into the durasteel curvature of the room. Turning his head slowly, Yoda looked around.

Rizza was not in the chamber.

Yoda stared directly at the back of Kaine's head. His eyes narrowed. "Where is Rizza?"

Kaine turned, smiling. He walked over to Yoda and stood before the Jedi Master. "Your padawan is quite safe, I assure you."

"What do you want from us?"

Kaine seemed to consider answering for a moment. Then, shrugging his shoulders, he assumed a casual gait and paced slowly around the Force-cage with his arms behind his back.

"I'm pleased you've recovered from the nueroxiprine. I apologize for having to utilize the gas, but I'm afraid that my ysalamiri were dying. They don't survive for long if you remove them from the trees they inhabit, and the trees don't survive long when removed from Myrkr." Yoda continued the slow, uncontrollable turn in his cage, making no effort to maintain eye-contact with Kaine. He heard his captor sigh. "I suppose it is unlikely at this point that we will be able to talk as we once did."

"Suppose correctly, you do."

Yoda's rotation brought Kaine back into view.

The politician seemed contemplative. "I suppose I can understand that," Kaine said. He turned away and walked back to the primary console.

"How long?" Yoda asked.

Kaine turned and regarded Yoda. "I'm sorry?"

"How long, a Sith have you been?"

Kaine's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He seemed to catch himself immediately and turned his surprised gaze into a smile. Kaine lowered his head and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes from beneath his lowered brow and looked directly at Yoda with a malevolent glare. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You _are_ the greatest of the Jedi, after all."

"Answer my question, you have not."

Kaine turned away from Yoda and punched a series of buttons. Yoda's rotation came to a halt, facing the viewscreen, and Kaine turned to face him. Kaine stood tall and lifted his chin.

"I am Darth Frigeus."

He walked toward Yoda with a steady, determined look fixed on his face. "I have studied the Force all my life. Your Jedi Seekers actually rejected me as a child, concerned that my midichlorian count was not high enough." Kaine chuckled. "I spent a lifetime, honing my skills. My family, unfortunately, never understood my need for power. I had to…remove them from my life. Several decades ago, my Master found me and began my training. I have learned much."

"Your visit with me on Coruscant, a test that was." It wasn't a question.

"One that went extremely well, in fact." Kaine stopped at the edge of the Force-cage and smiled at Yoda. "How does it feel, I wonder? Are you angry? Would you like to destroy me?"

"Sith, you are. Destroy yourself you will."

"Ahhh, yes. The famous Jedi approach to the Sith. Leave them to their own devices and the Sith will be destroyed. Bury your head in the desert sands. If you cannot see the danger, then it does not exist." Kaine chuckled. "Well, that might be true if I were anything like the Sith you've read about in your archives. But I am not. You will come to learn this, in time."

Yoda lifted his head and gazed at Kaine in surprise, his eyes narrowing. "Mean for me to join you, you do."

Kaine looked back at Yoda, grinning. "Why else would I go to all this trouble to collect you?"

Yoda laughed aloud. "Join the Sith, I would not. Know this, you must."

"I wouldn't be so sure, my little Jedi friend." Kaine raised a hand and gestured casually. The viewscreen came to life, showing the distinctive blue-white roiling clouds of hyperspace. "Do you know where we are going, Master Jedi?"

Yoda's breath caught in his chest. "No!"

"Oh yes. It is interesting to me that you've chosen the test site for this weapon of mine. It fits my needs quite nicely, as you can imagine. Far on the outer Rim and outside of Republic control—no one will even notice it's gone."

Yoda's fists tightened and he pulled against the Force-bonds for the first time. "No!" he snarled.

"Yeesss," Kaine hissed with a smile. "Release your anger. Your anger will make you powerful. Only with _all_ the power of the Force at your disposal can you hope to stop me."

"Release me!" Yoda roared. His muscles ached but the bonds didn't budge.

Kaine smiled and pulled two lightsabers from his belt. "I am curious as to why you kept Winn's lightsaber. Yours is much better constructed, I must say."

"Release me!"

"I'll tell you what, Yoda. I'm going to do you a favor." Kaine raised his hand casually and a simple black table floated into view from the far side of the room. The table settled gently on the black floor between Yoda and Kaine. Darth Frigeus smiled as he placed both lightsabers on the flat, smooth surface. Yoda gazed longingly at his blade. "It will be a few days before we arrive at our destination. I fully intend to test-fire my weapon at your home. You are free to use whatever means you feel necessary to try and stop me. If you manage to free yourself from your little prison…" Kaine reached down and picked up Yoda's lightsaber and hooked it on his belt. He smiled. "Well, you'll have one weapon at your disposal."

"Kill you, I will!" Yoda screamed. Every muscle in his face tightened with rage.

"Perhaps…" Kaine walked to the door. "But somehow, I doubt it."


	9. Chapter 7, Nightfall, Part 2

**Chapter 7**

**Nightfall, Part II**

Fear.

His heart pounded.

His breath grew shallow.

His throat tightened.

Frantically, Yoda flailed against his bonds, desperate to free himself. His arms burned with exhaustion. Frustrated, Yoda dropped his head and hung loosely from his extended arms, breathing hard, eyes closed. He could almost hear the screams of his people echoing in his ears over the thrumming power of the Force-cage.

It was hopeless…

* * *

Darth Frigeus slid into the room, glancing at Yoda with a raised brow.

Yoda glared at the Sith with burning eyes.

Kaine let his gaze fall to the table on which the Iktotchi's lightsaber lay undisturbed and frowned.

"You are beginning to disappoint me, Master Yoda. I was convinced you would have found a way out of your bonds by now. Are you truly that powerless without the Force?"

Yoda's voice was tight and filled with venom. "Release me and see, you shall, how powerful I can be!"

"And what fun would that be, my diminutive friend? No, I'm afraid that if you want to engage me in battle, you will have to earn that right."

"Release me!" Yoda screamed.

"You're beginning to sound a little repetitive, my friend."

"Raaggghhh! Kill you!"

"Perhaps. But not today."

The Sith entered a few commands on the console, and then turned and left the room.

* * *

Yoda turned his head slightly and opened his eyes to look again at the bonds that held his right arm. Distantly, he noticed the loose curl of his gnarled forefinger a fraction of a centimeter from the top of one of the interlocking bolts on his bond. Yoda drew his brow tight and lifted his head. Narrowing his eyes, he drew his face as close to his arm as his position would allow.

Tentatively, Yoda stretched his finger and reached out to touch the bolt with his long nail. Digging it under the head of the bolt, he was surprised to see the bolt budge slightly. He pulled on the bolt head again but this time, it did not move. If he could free the bolt, Yoda reasoned, the entire Force-cage might collapse.

Determined, Yoda pursed his lips and tried again.

* * *

The whir of servomotors alerted Yoda to the impeding return of Darth Frigeus. Swallowing hard, Yoda forced the bile that threatened to erupt in his mouth back into his empty stomach. Sighing deeply, he hung his head again rather than look upon the politician who had betrayed him so completely.

Kaine marched into the room as elegant as ever. His armorweave cloak billowed gracefully behind him as his boots clicked crisply against the hard floor. Without a glance in Yoda's direction, Kaine stepped directly to the main viewscreen console and set about punching in a sequence on the computer.

Yoda's voice interrupted the silence in a raspy, dejected tone. "Release me."

"That mantra of yours is growing tiresome, Yoda," Kaine replied without looking up from his ministrations.

"Why do you do this?"

Kaine paused and looked up at the viewscreen but didn't turn. He sighed. "Because, Master Yoda, it is what I must do." He returned his gaze to the computer console and began his work anew. "We each have our roles to play in this galaxy, my friend. Mine is to ensure the survival of the Sith. Yours is to join us. It is no more complicated than that."

"Die, the Sith will, when kill you, I do."

"I'm afraid that _you_ will not be the one to destroy the Sith, my friend." Kaine turned and faced Yoda. He seemed to be trying to decide whether or not to continue. He glanced back at the console and them shrugged slightly. "I suppose we have time," he smiled finally. "Besides, you will need to learn this at some point. The Sith have a prophecy, not unlike your prophecy of the Chosen One."

Yoda lifted his head looked up at Kaine, surprised. "The one who will bring balance to the Force?" Yoda furrowed his brow. "An ancient prophecy, this is. Came into being, it did, when defeated, the Sith were."

"Yes, quite right." Kaine grinned and leaned onto the console. "One wonders if the two prophecies aren't related. At any rate, Sith'ari is said to be a perfect being who will rise to power and bring balance to the Force. According to prophecy, he will rise up and destroy the Sith, but in the process, return to lead the Sith and make us stronger than ever."

Yoda dropped his head again and sighed. "The Chosen One, destroy the Sith, he will. Lead you, he will not."

Kaine chuckled. "I suppose we could wait and find out." Yoda eyed him as Kaine's smile evaporated. "But that is not our nature, we Sith. We believe that there is nothing beyond our control. If this Sith'ari is to come into existence, then it is best if _we_ control the when and the how."

"Impossible, this is."

"Not at all. In fact, it is only a matter of time until we master the necessary skills to create the perfect being—one born virtually from the Force itself." Kaine crossed his arms, looking proud. "I hope you realize, Yoda, it is no small thing what I am telling you. You are going to be a part of the greatest achievement this galaxy has ever known. In fact, it is a sample of _your_ blood that my scientists are working on at this very moment. Imagine it! _You_ could be the cause of the rise of the Sith'ari! Does that not fill you with excitement? If we create him, and nurture him correctly, we could rule the Galaxy!"

Yoda flicked his wrists and his bonds fell free. The blue-white light dissipated. As Yoda fell onto the orb, his outstretched hand called the Iktotchi's lightsaber. Kaine's eyes finally fully opened in obvious surprise when Yoda reached the apex of his leap. A crimson beam of particle energy erupted from Yoda's hand as he began his descent toward the Sith Lord.

When he landed on the console, Yoda's blade clashed hard against the equally blood-red energy of Darth Frigeus. Yoda's eyes burned and his pulse quickened.

He felt no Jedi calm.

There was no peace.

Instead, his face contorted with rage as he called on the Force. The two warriors stood at a stalemate, each pushing against the other's blade.

Yoda stared into Kaine's eyes and caught a trickle of fear. Yoda laughed and pushed the man back with the enormous power of the Force. Frigeus hurtled backward and landed hard against a bank of computer consoles on the far side of the room. His blade fell to the floor, and deactivated.

As the Dark Lord of the Sith struggled to his feet, Yoda laughed. "Warned you, I did." Yoda hopped down from the console and stalked toward Kaine. He could feel the energy from the Force filling him completely. He felt more powerful than he ever had.

"Now, kill you I will."


	10. Ch 8, The Dark Side of the Force, Part 1

**Chapter 8**

**The Dark Side of the Force, Part I**

The memory came unbidden as Yoda approached the rising Sith Lord...   
_  
"The Sith are nothing like other sensitives who use the Force. Passion feeds their power, but it does not rule them." _

"Master Rimasiss, I don't understand."

"You're too young to have ever met a Sith, padawan. I have only faced one in a hundred and twenty years. You needn't worry about them, though. They are extinct, as far as any of us can tell."

Yoda's young eyes scanned his Master's weathered face. The Thisspiasian Jedi Master was the oldest and most revered of the Jedi. His voice sounded as ancient and wise as his curled white beard looked. Rimasiss turned and looked at Yoda, his expression hidden behind the tufts of white hair that grew out of his face. 

"_Yoda, I fail to understand why you're asking about this. You're barely twelve standard years old—a child by even human standards…" He bent low and brought his eyes level with Yoda's. "Besides, shouldn't you be practicing your lightsaber skills? You are far behind your fellow padawans in this area, my young apprentice." _

Yoda frowned, but dutifully bowed his head. "Yes, Master." 

Rimasiss stood erect, apparently satisfied, and turned to walk away.

"Master?"

"What is it, padawan?" 

"Are the Sith more powerful?"

Rimasiss' hairy face bristled as he turned to regard Yoda. "More powerful? Hmm…do you fear them, my young apprentice?"

"No. Fear leads to the dark side."

"Very good, padawan. But the dark side of the Force is a pathway to many unnatural abilities, padawan. No…the Sith are not more powerful. Yes, they have access to powers that would seem amazing to you, but their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness. They detach themselves from their emotions. That is how they are different from the other users of the dark side. They use their emotions like tools, but they are not connected to them. This prevents them from ever really loving anyone. As such, they know nothing of loyalty. They destroyed themselves through their own deceit and lust for power. Even if one or two managed to survive, their way cannot survive, because treachery is the way of the Sith." 

"What sort of powers, Master? How do you fight them?" 

Rimasiss chuckled. "Come now, padawan. That's enough questions for today. You have an appointment with a lightsaber. For now, I only have one piece of advice for you should you feel the urge to fight a Sith."

"What's that, Master?"

"Don't." 

Yoda stopped in front of Kaine and angled his lightsaber across his frame in the Ataro defensive stance. Darth Frigeus stood tall and nodded.

"It is better this way, is it not, Master Jedi? You and I locked in combat for the life of your pathetic planet. "

Yoda gripped the lightsaber even more tightly. "If dead you are, destroy Migruna, you cannot."

"And what makes you think you can kill me, my arrogant little friend?"

Yoda leapt at Kaine in a crimson blur of fury. The Jedi Master slashed his blade incessantly at the Dark Lord of the Sith. His muscles tightened with each strike. His attack strengthened with each leap. Power flowed into Yoda faster than it ever had before. He could feel the fiery flow of energy permeating his every movement.

Darth Frigeus smiled. 

"Yeeessss…." Kaine grinned as he thwarted Yoda's barrage. The Dark Lord turned gracefully and twirled his blade in response to Yoda's thrusts. "I can feel your power growing, Yoda!" Kaine laughed aloud and gave ground as Yoda pressed his assault. "Release your rage! Use it! Only your hate can destroy me!"

Yoda roared as he called on the Force. He felt no soothing currents pouring into him as he had so many times before. The power that teemed into him burned like the fire in his heart. Enraged, Yoda unleashed the inferno.

The Dark Lord of the Sith flew across the room, and landed hard. Yoda leaped onto the prostrate politician, his lightsaber angled down to thrust through his chest. Kaine rolled to the side and leapt away. Unable to stop his momentum, Yoda's weapon drove into the floor to the hilt. As he withdrew his sword, he caught his reflection in the gloss of obsidian.

Yoda froze.

"No!" Yoda screamed. Swallowing hard, Yoda closed his eyes. _Of the dark side, this is…_

"Yes!" Kaine sneered and leapt at Yoda's back, brandishing his lightsaber for a killing blow.

Yoda leapt aside, knocking Kaine's blade away. As his feet touched the floor, Kaine advanced. With a flurry of movement, Yoda found himself desperately giving ground to Darth Frigeus' seemingly unrelenting attack. Yoda leapt and twirled but could not gain ground. 

"Kill…you…" Yoda snarled. "Kill…you…I…will!" 

Yoda leapt up onto the viewscreen console just as Kaine's weapon clashed into his. Yoda struggled to hold the Sith's powerful blade at bay. His breath caught in his throat when he looked into Kaine's glowering yellow eyes.

"Give yourself to the dark side. Then, perhaps you will!" the Dark Lord grinned.

Yoda swung his foot up and drove the sharp nails of his toes into Kaine's wrists. The Sith Lord screamed in agony and dropped his blade as he leapt away.

Yoda howled in triumph.

Reaching out, Yoda called the fallen blade to his hand. "Now! You will die!"

Kaine held his wrist and stared at Yoda with fiery eyes. Yoda smiled as he ignited Darth Frigeus' blade. The Dark Lord straightened and lifted his chin. Yoda bellowed with wrath and leaped from the console, the weapons swinging from his sides like twin-ion engines.

Darth Frigeus raised his hand.

Yoda's lip curled in disgust. No Force-push would stop his assault.

Darth Frigeus smiled. 

Pain.

It erupted all around Yoda. Forgotten in his agony, the weapons fell absently to the floor as Yoda landed hard against the console. Electrical fire tore at his skin. Squinting through the anguish and the blue-white fire that engulfed him, Yoda saw the Sith Lord's triumphant glare as lightning poured from his wounded hand.

Relief.

The electrical storm stopped.

"Do you see it now, Yoda? Do you finally understand? The Sith are _never_ unarmed. The Force _itself_ is our weapon!"

Agony. 

Respite.

"Are you going to make me destroy you, Yoda? Join me, and this power will be yours! Defy me, and suffer." 

He could barely hear the words above the pounding of his pulse against his ears. His throat burned as he screamed. "No!" 

Kaine dropped his head and sighed. "Very well, then." 

Blue-white lightning swallowed the Jedi.


	11. Ch 8, The Dark Side of the Force, Part 2

**Chapter 8 **

**The Dark Side of the Force, Part II**

"Master, tell me about the powers of the Sith."

"Yoda, this is becoming something of an obsession with you. One might think you wanted to become one."

"No Master! Of course not! I…I guess I'm just not convinced that they are really gone." Yoda's voice trailed off and he looked down at his hands, embarrassed.

Master Rimasiss' eyes glinted with apparent amusement. "You believe your fourteen years of experience is greater than that of the entire Jedi Council?"

"No, Master…it's just…" Yoda stammered.

Rimasiss placed a reassuring hand on Yoda's shoulder and crouched down to look Yoda in the eye. "It's just that you can sense the cold."

The young migru's eyes widened. "Yes, Master! How did you know?"

The Jedi Master nodded with a wry smile. "I feel it as well." With a sigh, he stood. "But the Council will not listen to me." He turned away from Yoda and stared out at the largest of the fountains, seeming to relish the sound of the running water. At length, he spoke. "What do you sense, my padawan?"

Yoda moved to his Master's side and clenched his fists, struggling to find the words. "I can feel it somewhere…elusive. You said that others who use the dark side are hot, but the Sith are cold. I feel the cold in the Force. It's fading, but I can feel it. They are out there, and they are learning to hide themselves." He held his breath. Swallowing hard, he lifted his chin. "I should be prepared."

"You_, padawan? Why you?" _

Yoda looked up at his imposing teacher. "I don't know, Master. I just know. When I close my eyes at night, I see myself fighting the Sith."

"You dream of fighting the Sith?" Rimasiss looked down at Yoda and drew his brow tight, as if seeing Yoda for the first time. "And what do you see in your dreams, padawan?"

"They don't fight with lightsabers alone, Master. They use the Force. They…"

"Go on, padawan."

"They use lightning….it comes from their hands. And…it hurts."

Rimasiss nodded. He closed his eyes and sighed. "What do you want to know, Yoda?"

The padawan walked to the edge of the pool. "How do I fight them?"

The Jedi Master smiled as he gathered his robes and sat next to Yoda. He stared at Yoda intently. "I have heard of Sith striking at Jedi with lightning. I do not know how they do it, padawan." He sighed. "I am sorry. But the Jedi who fought them were able to block the attack with their lightsabers. They used the Force to shunt the power through their crystals. Does that help?"

Yoda nodded. He looked up at his Master with pleading eyes. "But what if I have no weapon?"

Rimasiss drew his eyebrows together. "A Jedi never loses his lightsaber, Yoda."

"But if he did?" Yoda persisted.

The Master placed a hand on his bearded chin. "Hmmm….well, if this lightning is called from the Force, then the Force should stop it. If they use their hands to direct its power at you, I imagine that you can use your hands to deflect it."

"How do I do that?"

"Your focus determines your reality, Yoda. How many times have I told you this?"

"What if I can't do it?"

Rimasiss let out an exasperated breath. "If you believe that, then the Sith have already won."

"Am I to fight the Sith, Master? Will I be the one to stop them?"

"I don't know, Yoda. The future is always in motion. It's impossible to truly see what will happen. It is possible that you will face them one day. Your lifespan is much greater than even mine. It is also possible that these are only dreams. Dreams pass in time."

"Yes, Master." Yoda frowned. "But what about nightmares?"

Rimasiss placed both hands on Yoda's shoulders. "Your focus determines your reality, Yoda. This is always true. In life and in dreams. If you want these nightmares to end, you can. Meditate on it."

"I'm afraid, Master."

"There is no fear, Yoda. There is no emotion. There is peace."

Yoda nodded. "Yes, Master."

* * *

Agony.

_Your focus determines your reality…_

Reprieve.

"I regret that you must suffer this way, Yoda."

"Stop…" Yoda's throat, dry from the electrical storm, burned with every breath. "Please…"

"You can end this, Yoda. You only need to accept the power I offer you."

"No. I will…not…turn."

Anguish.

"Then you will die."

_Focus!_

Eyes shut tight against the pain, Yoda called on the Light. A cold, dark cloud in the Force surrounded him, shutting him off from the power he sought. He knew he could not break through. He could not let the Light in.

Panic.

_Do not fear the dark, Yoda. Use it. You control the Force. You are its Master. Bend it to your will. Let go of your guilt. Let go of your fear. Use the dark against itself, and you will triumph._

Rage.

Yoda unclenched his fists and drew his hands from his sides.

Kaine's eyes widened. He gasped as he halted his attack. "Are you going to fight back, Yoda?" Kaine laughed. His eyes narrowed. "You are, aren't you? How wonderful!" Kaine smiled as he raised both of his hands and pointed them at the Migru Master.

Yoda struggled to his feet. Standing weakly on the battered console, Yoda opened his eyes and stared at his attacker. Tapping into the Force, he felt the cold swarm about him. Yoda lowered his head, keeping his gaze fixed on Kaine. "Be wonderful for you, it will not!"

Kaine's lips curled in a contemptuous glare. "_Now_, you will face the _full_ power of the dark side!"

Energy exploded from Kaine's outstretched hands.

Yoda allowed a wry smile to play across his lips as he extended his hands before him.

The lightning struck his open palms and drove him backward. Yoda grunted and drew the Force around him like a frozen blanket. Power surged in and around the Master Jedi. The lightning surged and billowed but remained contained in Yoda's grasp.

Kaine snarled. His yellow eyes seemed to glow brighter as the blood vessels in his corneas darkened. The blue tinge in the lightning dissipated as the number of strands of white power intensified.

_Use it! Draw on your untapped power, and you will be invincible…_

Yoda gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow as sweat beaded on his forehead.

_You have the power to stop him…_

Grunting with effort, Yoda pulled his palms together, causing the raging energy to begin to coalesce into a growing sphere.

Kaine's eyes widened. "Impossible…"

"No…" Yoda grunted. He bent his arms as Kaine's attack flowed more violently at him. With a sudden roar, he pushed his hands forward with all his strength.

The sphere of electrical energy surged from Yoda's hands and engulfed the Dark Lord.

"Arr_rggghhhh--_"

"Not impossible," Yoda panted as he placed his hands on his knees, catching his breath. "Inevitable."

Kaine fell.

Yoda leapt from the console, his outstretched palms calling the fallen lightsabers. The electrical surges around the Dark Lord slowly dispersed. Kaine placed his palms flat on the cold obsidian floor and raised his head to regard Yoda. "What was inevitable, Master Jedi? My defeat? Or, perhaps, your turn to the dark side of the Force?"

Yoda stopped.

He stared down at the weapons in his hands. He had planned to kill Kaine, whether the politician continued to fight or not. This was not the Jedi way.

"Turn to the dark side, I have not!"

Kaine laughed.

Yoda gripped the lightsaber hilts tighter.

"I am disappointed in you, Yoda."

_Shut him up. Kill him…_

"Kill you, I will!"

"Spoken like a true Jedi."

Yoda stalked forward.

Kaine struggled to his feet and set his jaw.

"End the threat to Migruna, your death will."

"You may rationalize your actions any way you wish, my little green friend. But _I_ pose no threat to your adopted home. My Master has ordered Migruna III as the test site, and I will obey."

The cold blanket that covered Yoda's heart froze. He barely registered that his feet were no longer moving. "Your _Master_?"

_Kill him, and I will show you the path to unlimited power…_

"_Your_ Master…?" Yoda stared in confusion at the lightsabers in his hands. He could feel the electrum crystals humming within—crystals harvested by the Sith.

_He is lying to save his life. Destroy him while you can…_

"No!"

Yoda heart leapt in surprise as he was suddenly hurled across the room and pinned hard against the far wall, the suddenly deactivated lightsabers falling freely from his grasp. He raged against the invisible power that imprisoned him. He glared at Kaine through fury-filled eyes as the corner of the Dark Lord's lip curled into a lop-sided smile.

The doors opened.

Kaine turned respectfully and knelt on one knee.

"He is ready, my Master."

The shadow cast by the arrival of the Dark Lord of the Sith broke the shafts of light that poured through the open doorway.

Yoda's blood froze.

Though it was covered in a black cowl, there was no mistaking the diminutive frame that entered the room.

"Well done, my apprentice." The voice was devoid of any emotion. A brown hand extended from beneath the dark robes and rested on Kaine's head. "Rise, my friend. Complete the preparations."

"Yes, my Master." Kaine stood and left the room without turning.

"No…" Yoda whispered.

Two brown hands went to the cowl and pulled it back slowly.

"Yes, my lover," Rizza replied.


	12. Chapter 9, Occasum

**Author's Note: This is the last chapter that I had preloaded in my document manager. For the last three days, the document manager has not been working so I'm unable to upload the next few chapters. I'm sure the site administrators will fix that at some point in the near future but, until then, I wanted to warn you all that there won't be daily chapters. As soon as the document mangager is working again, I'll return to the normal schedule. **

**In the meantime, I challenge you all to go back and check out the earlier chapters and see if you notice all the clues that Rizza was not who she appeared to be. I promise you, the clues are there.**

**Ok. Without further ado...**

**Chapter 9**

**OCCASUM**

Migru younglings on their first outing into the woods would often sit around campfires and trade stories before being sent off into the trees for the night. The children often competed to see who could come up with the scariest story. Most tales were based on legendary characters, such as the great migru explorer Nallegam. Among the most popular of the stories was that of Ikol.

Ikol, an insufferable prankster, had a history of going into the woods to set the stage for yet another grand trick. Loathed by the adults and worshipped by the younglings, Ikol's notoriety had spread across all the villages of Migruna III.

One night, his ministrations were interrupted by howls of agony from a gnarlick. Leaving his campsite, Ikol searched for the wounded beast, whose cries grew fainter the deeper into the woods that Ikol went. After locating the trail of the massive creature, Ikol ran headlong after it.

After an hour, Ikol realized he was hopelessly lost but decided to continue his search for the beast. It was only after the moons had set and the night was at its blackest that Ikol found a dark clearing wherein the creature lay, panting.

The gnarlick, large docile herbivores, had been vanishing from the woods of Migruna III over the previous months, and Ikol believed they had been falling to some unknown predator. Searching the woods carefully, Ikol quickly assessed that he and the gnarlick were alone. He ran to the creature to examine its wounds.

The specifics of the story beyond this were unknown.

Migru younglings often completed the story with all manner of gruesome details in a valiant attempt to outdo the previous storyteller. The only known fact was that several days later, while searching for the missing Ikol, a Council member found the cave of an astaak. It took several more months before that astaak was successfully hunted down and destroyed.

What sparked the fearful imaginations of so many migru younglings was what the Council member had found within the astaak's lair. Lying discarded in the center of the dark cavern was a young migru skull. Hanging above on the wall, the Council member had discovered a gnarlick's hide.

Ever popular, the story had been told and retold for generations. While the details varied over the centuries, the lesson was never lost on all migru—

_Beware of the astaak in gnarlick's clothing…_

"I am not an astaak, Yoda."

"Rape my mind further, you will not!" Yoda snarled, gritting his teeth. He glared down at Rizza as she glided across the room, seeming to expend no effort to keep him pinned high against the wall.

She chuckled quietly. "I certainly think 'rape' is a very strong word for it, do you not? As I recall, you have been rather welcoming."

Yoda grunted and tugged uselessly at the invisible barrier. "Release me, and welcome you, I will."

Rizza turned and arched an eyebrow. "I fully intend to release you, Yoda. But I want to talk. Are you willing to talk to me?"

Yoda curled his lips. "Nothing to you, have I to say."

Rizza's condescending smile made Yoda's stomach lurch. "Come now, Yoda. Only last night, you were nestled in my arms, professing your love for me." She raised her hand, open-palmed, and Yoda's fallen lightsabers flew to her. She placed them on her belt and smiled. "What has really changed?"

"Changed?" Yoda roared and pulled the frozen blanket of the Force tighter around him. Rizza's eyes glinted as a power conduit tore from the wall and hurtled toward her. As she raised her hand to deflect it, Yoda pushed against her Force-hold. The metal wall to which he was pinned groaned under the strain. Screaming, Yoda opened himself fully to the Force. Fire enveloped his insides and burned away the cold. "_Everything!_"

At the fringes of his mind, Yoda recognized the heat he felt.

A smile played across his lips.

The heat had made his opponents powerful.

Yoda tore free of the wall with a roar and landed hard on the black tile with a thud.

"Impressive." Rizza's smile seemed genuine. "I always knew you had far more potential than you have displayed over the years. Well done."

"Turn me to the dark side, you will not!" Yoda felt the heat surging within him. Lowering his head, he fought to contain it.

Rizza's voice carried a tinge of amusement. "Do you really believe that, Yoda?" She chuckled softly. "The dark side of the Force burns within you even now. You cannot fight it. There is no Jedi alive who could free himself from my Force-grip. Even with all his years of training, Darth Frigeus could never do it. Where do you think this sudden surge of power came from? Your pitiful connection to the light side of the Force!"

She smiled as her voice softened. "You have already started down the dark path." Yoda felt her standing above, blocking the light and casting a shadow over him. She knelt and took his face in her hands. "Only with _my_ training can you hope to contain the fire that rages within you. I can teach you to _control_ the power that you have tapped into, my love."

Her hands felt warm and inviting against his skin. Her voice was sweeter than the songs of the skattergale. Yoda closed his eyes tight and yanked away from her touch.

"Your love, I am not!" He stood quickly and retreated.

Rizza knelt as she held her gaze firmly on him. Extending her hands outward, a pained expression crossed her face. "Do you not understand, Yoda? I _chose_ you. From the moment I came to know the dark side I have searched the galaxy for a companion to explore the depths of meaning in the Force and harness its power."

Yoda continued to back away until he felt the cold durasteel wall against his back. He could barely hear his own voice above the pounding of his pulse against his ears. "What of your apprentice? What of Darth Frigeus?"

Rizza stood and waved her hand dismissively "A child. His power is great, but he will never be as great as _you_ can be." She approached Yoda with open arms. "_You_ are who I want. _You_ are the one I have searched for. _Join_ me, Yoda. Join me and we will discover the _true_ power of the Force."

The heat grew in his chest. He glanced down at his quivering hands and opened his perceptions to the Force. Bright red flames billowed all around him. He nodded internally. Lifting his head to face her, he frowned.

"Nothing to learn from you, I have."

"Do you think the Jedi will accept you as you are, Yoda?" For the first time, her voice seemed to crack. "You have tainted yourself with the dark side of the Force. They won't want you anymore."

"Free myself, I will."

"Nonsense!" She spun on her heel and walked across the room. "Have you ever seen it done, Yoda? In all your centuries of wandering, have you _ever_ seen it done? Do people routinely fall to the dark side and recover, like some kind of deathstick addict?"

Yoda lowered his head and gazed at the floor.

Rizza turned and stared at him. She smiled. "The Jedi do not know love, Yoda—not really. Even my mother warned me of this." Her eyes narrowed.

Yoda quickly lifted his head. "Your mother. Deceived her as well, you have." He was not asking. He shook his head in disgust and slid to the floor. He sat, placing his head against his knees.

Rizza laughed. "Well, the old hag deserves it, does she not? Do you know why she never allowed me to be trained?" Yoda closed his eyes. "Because she was afraid! She had to hold me back. She knew that I would have been a greater Jedi than she could _ever_ hope to be. Now," she laughed, "I'm a greater Sith than any that have gone before me. And with you at my side, no pair of Master and Apprentice will ever hope to achieve what we will."

"Join you, I will not," he whispered.

Silence descended on the room. Only the gentle hum from the remaining power conduits disturbed the quiet. Noiselessly, Rizza crossed the room and sat next to Yoda. At length, she whispered. "You are tired. You are fighting the darkness that is swarming about you, Yoda. The heat is too great for you. It is more acute in you because of your Force potential. You _must_ free yourself, or you will burn up."

He could feel it, the energy building within him. The heat was growing unbearable. How had so many survived like this? It was too much.

"How?" he whispered.

"You must let go, Yoda."

He gritted his teeth against the searing pain behind his eyes. "Let go?"

"Of what you fear to lose."

Migruna.

"No."

"Yes, Yoda. You must. To be a Sith, you must distance yourself from your emotions. Your passion is your weapon, not your Master. _That_ is what makes the Sith greater than those fools who fall to the dark side of the Force and are never trained. You must find that place inside you where you feel no guilt. You must distance yourself from your pain."

"Let go of Migruna, I can not."

"You were willing to let go of me, were you not?"

"Evil, you are."

"Evil is a point of view, Yoda. I am the enemy of the Jedi, yes. But I am also your love. Can you fall in love with evil?"

"Deceived me, you did."

"Did I? Or did you allow yourself to be deceived? You wanted me the moment you laid eyes on me. I wanted you before we even met. We are meant to be together."

Tears welled at the edges of his eyelids.

"You must let go, Yoda. I can help you."

His throat grew tight. He struggled to swallow.

"No…"

"Please, Yoda. Join me. Be my student. Be my friend. Be my lover. Let go."

A tear fell.

"I do not know how."

She placed an arm around his shoulders.

"I will teach you."

**

* * *

**

Darth Frigeus stared at the bottom of the closed durasteel door, his muscles tense.

As if a responding to some unspoken pronouncement, he looked up briefly and inhaled deeply. He turned his head downward again and gazed at his tightened fist. He intensified his stare, willing his hand to unfurl itself. Finally, his fingers relaxed and he nodded, ignoring the slight tremble as he returned his gaze to the doorway.

_A Sith knows no fear,_ he recalled from his early training.

The words did little to quell the sense of impending doom he felt. His bout with Yoda had not gone well. Had his master not arrived when she did, he most certainly would have fallen to Yoda's blade.

The Dark Lord focused his eyes on the gleaming metal door, and frowned at his distorted reflection. It was only a matter of time now, he knew.

_A Sith knows no fear._

No. That was not quite right, he decided. His study of the dark side of the Force had taught him that the great strength of the Sith was not their lack of fear. Unlike the weak Jedi, the Sith did not run from fear. The Sith embrace it. The Sith wrap fear about them and use it for nourishment. A Sith has the power to face fear and rise above it.

He nodded. Breathing deeply, he felt the reassuring cold of the dark side permeate his core. Calmly, he entered the code and glided into his master's chamber.

When the door slid shut behind him, the darkness in the room grew absolute. Patiently, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the deep shadows. Slowly, her form seemed to emerge from the murkiness, though he sensed no movement in the room. When she had resolved to his satisfaction, he moved to her side.

She sat on her cot, deep in meditation.

He waited.

At length, she sighed.

"I've always appreciated that about you, Dorran." Her voice was quiet, almost reverent.

"What would that be, Master?"

"Your respect for silence. My own Master spoke often and loudly." She chuckled. "I think I sought you out just so I would have an excuse to shut him up."

There it was.

Kaine decided it best to change the subject. "How is our new apprentice doing?"

"He's getting some much-needed rest." Rizza smiled and stood. She walked to a console on the far side of the room. Suddenly, the room exploded in light. Kaine raised his hand reflexively to shield his eyes. Rizza chuckled. "As much as I appreciate your respect for silence, my apprentice, there is one thing I've never liked about you."

Kaine lowered his hand, and stared out at his Master, red blotches dancing across his retina. His throat dry, he swallowed hard. "How have I displeased you, Master? What is it that you do not like?"

"Your fear, Dorran." She drew her brows together and placed her hands behind her back. "How many times must I tell you that a Sith knows no fear?"

"I fear nothing, my Lord."

"Do not lie to _me_, Darth Frigeus!" she spat.

"Master, I assure you—"

Rizza's raised hand forestalled him. "Your fear is not unwarranted, my apprentice. There is no need to deny it." She walked toward him. "I have never lied to you, and I will not begin now. We both know that there can only be two."

"I have been expecting this from the beginning, my Master. Why should I fear it now?"

"Because Yoda is far more powerful than either of us imagined." The Master of the Sith placed her hand on his soothingly. "He will one day be the most powerful of all the Sith."

"Not if I have more time…"

"Ahh, yes. Your precious Sith'ari."

"I have learned much in the last few days. My children on Korun have found Yoda's midichlorians most useful in our research. It is only a matter of time, my Master. The Sith'ari _will_ be born."

"Then you will be properly motivated when you face our new apprentice."

"Yes, my Master. I will delay no further."

"You _will_ delay, my apprentice. It is not yet time."

Realization dawned. "He has not pledged himself to us, my Master?"

"It is of no consequence. The more he fights the dark side, the more powerfully it grows within him. When our battle station is showered in the debris of his precious planet, he will give himself fully to the dark side."

Kaine clenched his fists. He lowered his gaze and his voice. "Have you considered that he might destroy you in his grief, Master?"

The Dark Lord seemed to consider this. Finally, she smiled. "I think you should be more concerned about him loosing his rage on you, my old friend."

"Oh?"

Rizza laughed.

"He loves me, remember?"


	13. Chapter 10, Death of a Friend, Part 1

**Author's note: Looks like everything's back to normal. I've uploaded virtually the entire rest of the story so we shouldn't have to worry about any problems in the future. crosses fingers I'll be continuing to update daily. Keep those responses coming! I love 'em and they make sharing this story worthwhile and enjoyable for me. As always, I'll respond to any review you submit. Thanks again! Now..on to the story!**

**Chapter 10**

**Death of a Friend, Part I**

_Fire…_

"Do not close your mind to it, Yoda."

_A beam of particle energy ripped the sky apart._

"Look at it. See it for what it is. Observe it. Turn the vision over in your mind."

_Energy the color of Yoda's blade burrowed into the planet with deadly precision._

"Is it not beautiful, my love?"

"No!" Yoda stood and stalked away from Rizza. "Our home this is! Save it, we must!"

With unsurpassed grace, Rizza crossed the short distance between them. Smiling, she took his hands in hers and gently pulled him back to the plush mat on which they had been meditating. "I'd like to teach you to meditate, Yoda. But you must trust me to lead you through this process."

"Know how to meditate, I do."

"Do you? How much calm have your meditations brought you, my love? Should not meditation leave you feeling free? Should you not rise stronger than you began?" Slipping into a cross-legged position on the floor, Rizza soothingly pulled Yoda down to join her.

Frowning, Yoda closed his eyes, shutting out her intense stare as he sat in front of her. He waited for some sign from Rizza. Saying nothing, she closed her eyes. Following suit, Yoda shut out the light of the room and drew steady breaths. Instantly, he felt the cold blanket of the dark side wrap around him. No matter how much he stretched out with the Force, all he could sense was the dark, impenetrable void he had experienced on so many occasions. Impatiently, he waited.

Suddenly, he felt her presence. Warmth spread from her in every direction. The feeling of suffocation vanished. Within moments, he felt himself being pulled along the currents of the Force. The barriers dissipated around him.

The universe resolved.

_Fire… _

A beam of particle energy ripped the sky apart...

Flames erupted around the planet. A conflagration engulfed Prime Village…

"Good, Yoda. Good. This is not something to fear." Feeling weightless and free, Yoda fought the familiar fear. "Now. Rise."

"Rise?"

"Yes, Yoda. Use the Force. Pull yourself above the flames. Rise out of them."

It seemed so natural. None of it was real, he reminded himself. It was a vision. It was his to control. He understood that now. The world slowly descended beneath him and Yoda floated above the burning forests of Migruna III.

"Higher, Yoda."

Nodding to himself, his ascent accelerated and white clouds whisked by from above. He could no longer see the flames below.

"Higher."

Stars filled his field of view. Far below, the tiny orb that was Migruna III grew smaller and smaller.

"Higher."

Migruna joined the pinpricks of light in the blackness of space.

"Higher."

Migruna III vanished into the darkness.

"Higher."

Yoda felt his breath catch in his throat as the spiral arms of the galaxy and its myriad stars came into view. His rapid movement came to a sudden halt.

"Yes, Yoda. You see it now, don't you? Here, among the stars, you are supreme. Here, you are unaffected by the loss of an insignificant planet on the edges of space. The entire _galaxy_ is yours to command. Every system, every star, every planet, every creature, exists solely so that you can command it. You can destroy it all, if that is your wish. _That_ is what it means to be Sith."

Yoda opened his eyes and held Rizza's gaze. "What if wish to save it, I do."

"Then—"

The doorway slid open and Kaine's silhouette filled the doorway. His stare lingered on Yoda briefly before he turned his gaze to Rizza. "Master Tyú, we have a situation."

The Dark Lord stood and lifted her cowl over her head. "Perhaps you refer to the Jedi craft in orbit around Migruna III?"

Darth Frigeus blinked for an instant. If Rizza noted her apprentice's surprise at all, she made no show of it. Instead, she turned to Yoda and extended her hand to him. Yoda stared at her questioningly but followed her lead, taking her hand as he stood beside her.

Rizza smiled in the shadows of her cowl, and then turned to face Kaine. "It is of no consequence. The Jedi have been trying to contact our friend here on their little device for the past few days without success. It is to be expected that they would send someone to search for him."

Kaine nodded. "Of course, my Master. I am convinced that the ship has not detected our presence yet, given the distance to the system when we dropped out of hyperspace. However, I believe it would be prudent for us to jam all signals so that our arrival will remain unannounced to the rest of the Order."

"Very well, my apprentice." She faced Yoda and regarded him. Kaine turned to leave. "And Darth Frigeus?" Kaine halted. "When we are within range, destroy the ship."

Kaine threw Yoda a sidelong glance. "And if the ship lands prior to us getting within weapons systems range?"

Darth Tyú's smile broadened. "Then, we will give our erstwhile Jedi what he is looking for, will we not, my love?"

Kaine seemed anxious. He glanced briefly at his hands, as if looking for something before returning his face to its normal, implacable appearance. Finally, he nodded. "Yes, my Master." Kaine's armorweave cloak whisked about him as he turned and exited the room.

"Come, my love." Rizza whispered to Yoda. "Let us complete our meditations."

**

* * *

**

Darth Frigeus arched a brow as the hangar door parted to admit the diminutive migru.

Yoda's gait was purposeful but unhurried as he crossed the durasteel chamber. His face was unreadable. As his robe parted with his steps, Kaine noticed the two lightsabers hanging from Yoda's belt. Pulling his brows tightly together, Kaine turned toward Yoda, clasping his hands behind his back.

If Yoda noticed the Sith Lord, he hid it well. Without slowing, he passed Kaine and started up the ramp into the personnel carrier. Frowning, Kaine turned to regard the two protocol droids that stood only meters away. True to their programming, the machines averted their gazes and attempted, unsuccessfully, to look busy. For a brief moment, Kaine considered crushing them both with a wave of his hand. Instead, he unclasped his hands and entered the ship.

Stepping into the cockpit area, Kaine noticed Yoda seated quietly in the copilot's chair, his cowl up.

"I don't suppose you'd care to explain why you chose to keep me waiting for over an hour?" Kaine took his seat, glancing at Yoda briefly as he engaged the controls to raise the ramp.

"Need to inform you of my movements, I do not."

Kaine nodded and turned to see the hatch seal shut. Turning in his seat, Kaine faced Yoda. "Let us be clear, Yoda. We are going down to your home to find, and most likely destroy, Jedi—friends of yours." Kaine let the words hang in the air. "Then we are going to return to this battle station and obliterate your planet, if all goes well."

Kaine couldn't see Yoda's reaction behind the cowl but felt certain he would get some sort of response.

Yoda's head swiveled slowly to face Kaine. Shadows hid his visage. All that could be seen were the twisted corners of Yoda's smile and his gleaming teeth. "And what happens next, hmmm?"

Kaine blinked.

"Yes, Lord Frigeus." Yoda hissed, his voice filled with malice. "It is what happens next that concerns you, no? When destroyed Migruna III is, no longer required will your services be. Know, Rizza will, of your weapon's power."

Kaine inhaled slowly, opening his perceptions in the Force. His eyes widened in surprise. Nothing. The Migru Master was completely inscrutable in the Force! Had he not known better, Kaine would have believed that Yoda was no longer sensitive to the Force. No tendrils of power emanated from his tiny frame.

"I see that Master Tyú has already begun your lessons in Sith deception," Kaine commented as he righted his seat and punched in the command codes to begin exiting the bay. A sidelong glance toward Yoda caught his satisfied grin as the Migru Master leaned back in his chair.

"Taught me many things, Rizza has," Yoda whispered.

The blast doors opened, and the star field came into view.

The hum of the ion drives grew louder in the cockpit as the ship exited the bay. Kaine looked out at the blue-green ball that represented his future conquest and possible demise. He angled the nose of the craft toward the main continent and began a steady descent.

"I would prefer that we were not adversaries, Yoda."

Yoda lowered his cowl and smiled. "For a Sith, Darth Frigeus, only two possibilities there are—allies and obstacles. Which are you?"

"I suppose that is a matter of your point of view, wouldn't you say?"

Yoda leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes. "Many truths, we cling to, lie in our point of view. An obstacle today, an ally tomorrow."

"Indeed?"

"Treachery is the way of the Sith."

"Indeed."

* * *

The soft earth of Migruna III gave slightly under the increasing pressure of the landing gear as Frigeus disengaged the ship's engines. He continued the final shutdown procedures, glancing at Yoda occasionally. When he had completed his tasks, he rotated in his chair and stood.

"Shall we get this over with?"

Yoda remained seated, staring out the transparisteel window, appearing deep in thought. Kaine raised his right brow. He had just begun to open his mouth when Yoda raised his hand.

At length, Yoda stood. His voice was resolute. "Stay here. Prepare to depart immediately when return, I do."

Kaine did nothing to try and hide his surprise. "What do you plan to do?"

Yoda flashed a fiery glare at Kaine. "My duty, I will do. Expect no less, you should!"

Kaine chuckled. "Your duty? I'm sorry, Yoda, but you'll forgive me if I don't exactly trust you."

Yoda's face contorted. Hopping down from the copilot's seat, Yoda grabbed one of his lightsaber hilts and poked the deactivated weapon into Kaine's knee.

"Your trust, I do not require, Kaine!" he spat.

Kaine stepped backward and regarded Yoda. He was not sure what was happening at the moment, but he could not allow Yoda to diminish him. He had to regain the upper hand. Drawing his own lightsaber, he angled the weapon down and ignited it.

"I beg to differ," Darth Frigeus sneered.

Yoda laughed.

Anger pounded in Kaine's chest, and he drew on it. Feeling the dark side of the Force humming within his body, Kaine grinned. "Very well, my little green friend. Let us finish this now."

Yoda's laugh grew louder as he turned and walked out of the cockpit area and activated the ramp mechanism.

"Desire to kill you now, I do not," Yoda snorted. As Migruna III came into view, Yoda's smile melted away and was replaced by a look of absolute malevolence. "No audience, there is."

Kaine moved into the small holding room with deadly purpose but was drawn to a halt by an invisible wall as dense and impenetrable as cadrinium, apparently called into existence by Yoda's casually raised hand. Kaine's lightsaber flew out of his hand before he was even fully aware that he could not move and landed at Yoda's feet.

As the realization that he was, at that moment, completely at Yoda's mercy dawned on him, Darth Frigeus noted wryly that he was more embarrassed than afraid. Until the moment Yoda unleashed his power, the migru had seemed completely at his mercy. There was no hint of the strength that Yoda clearly possessed in the Force. Yoda's mastery of the ability to hide himself in the Force was nothing short of astounding. Without a doubt, Yoda would become the most powerful Sith of all time.

A smug look on his face, Yoda clasped his hands behind his back and faced the frozen Kaine.

"A few observations for you, I have, _Darth_ Frigeus." Yoda looked down at the discarded weapon and kicked it absently out of the ship. He glanced back up at Kaine and smiled. "If alone, gain the Jedi's trust, I can. Deal with him, I will. Need your assistance, I clearly do not."

"Release me this instant!" Kaine roared.

Yoda smiled and placed a contemplative finger to his chin. "Interesting, this turn of events is, no?"

Heat flushed the Korun's face.

The corners of Yoda's mouth turned downward and his eyebrows drew tightly together.

"Stay here."

Without another word, Yoda leaped out of the ship and disappeared. A moment later, Kaine fell in a heap to the floor. Gathering himself up, Kaine considered, for the first time, that he might need to develop a new strategy.


	14. Chapter 10, Death of a Friend, Part 2

**Chapter 10 **

**Death of a Friend, Part II**

A small woodland creature scurried up the side of one of the curvilinear trees and joined a small group of the same kinds of creature. At the base of that tree, a slightly larger animal stared up at the high branches where its quarry had retreated. A brief snort later, the predator stalked away.

The wind picked up at that moment and the entire forest came alive. To the naked eye the event might have been invisible. To one not attuned to the currents of the Force, the fact that every creature in the woods was purposely moving away from…something…would have gone unnoticed.

To one connected to the Force, a sensation akin to absolute dread took hold.

Qui-Lek opened his eyes with a start and steered his gaze into the distant trees.

Nothing.

Opening his perceptions to the Force, Qui-Lek searched the woodland for some sign of the source of the disturbance.

Nothing.

_Deceive you, your eyes can. Trust them, you should not._ The head of the Jedi Order smiled as the memory of Yoda's advice during his very first lightsaber training session came unbidden to his mind.

Closing his eyes, Qui-Lek inhaled deeply, visualizing the currents of the Force flowing into him. Almost immediately the creatures' movements became clear. Whatever they were scurrying away from was moving through the forest. Fast. Towards him.

Qui-Lek squared himself and stood ready.

Extending his feelings toward the center of the disturbance, he tried to scrutinize it in the Force.

Nothing.

Qui-Lek's breath caught in his throat.

Was _this_ the void that Yoda had spoken of?

Inexorably, the disturbance closed the distance between them.

Qui-Lek's lightsaber hilt found his waiting hand.

Staring at the point in the woods from where he knew the disturbance would emerge, Qui-Lek tried to prepare himself.

The hair on his arms suddenly stood straight.

The quiet hum of his igniting blade broke the silence.

Suddenly two trees uprooted themselves and hurtled toward him at astonishing speed.

Qui-Lek leaped over them both, angling his blade down toward the unknown attacker.

As the creature came into view, the Jedi Master felt his stomach lurch.

Yoda's fierce eyes peered up at him across an ignited crimson blade.

* * *

Kaine's eyes widened in disbelief.

Amazing.

Remembering himself, Kaine forced himself to start breathing again and pulled the cold blanket of the dark side around him. Convinced he was not detectible, The Dark Lord slid among the trees, closing in on Yoda and Qui-Lek.

Qui-Lek. Now there, was a pleasant surprise. The head of the Jedi Council definitely could hold his own. If anyone could fight Yoda and survive, it was Qui-Lek. The tide of this battle could change everything.

The Force was a maelstrom between the combatants, roiling and lurching. The air seemed to respond as a powerful gust of wind tore at their robes. Kaine focused his attention on the silent battle that waged between them as he slid into the shadows of a large tree a few meters away.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this, Yoda?" Qui-Lek broke the silence, centered, ready.

Yoda's eyes seemed to lose focus for a brief moment. A ripple in the Force emanated from the diminutive Jedi and he lowered his head, closing his eyes. Qui-Lek peered intensely at Yoda through the Force, trying to discern…something—anything. Yoda remained an inscrutable void.

After an eternity, Yoda's blade wavered slightly as he sighed. "Wish to destroy you, I do not."

A knot twisted in Qui-Lek's stomach. He drew his brow tight in confusion. He found he had to yell above the din created by the sudden, interminable wind. "What are you talking about? _Destroy_ me? We are _friends_, Yoda! What has happened? Why are you closed off from me?"

Yoda opened his eyes, but stared only at the ground. "Leave, you must."

Qui-Lek straightened and angled his lightsaber lower. His voice dropped an octave but lost none of its intensity. "Not without you."

An intense wave of energy suddenly broke through the shroud of darkness that surrounded the Migru Master. It carried…a feeling…a…plea?

"Let me help you, Yoda."

"Leave."

"No."

Yoda's gaze remained firmly on that single spot between them. It dawned on Qui-Lek that it was not a spot at all—it was a line. A line that he most assuredly must not cross.

The dark side.

No. He would not accept it.

"Yoda. The Council will help you…._I_ will help you."

Finally Yoda lifted his head and their eyes met. The brief emotional connection between them was gone. He was invisible in the Force. In his eyes, Qui-Lek could perceive nothing.

At length, Yoda spoke again. In his voice, Qui-Lek heard only steely resolve. "Leave. Now!"

The knot in Qui-Lek's stomach twisted tighter. "You know I cannot do that, Yoda."

Yoda nodded.

"You can end this now, Yoda."

"Yes, I can." Yoda brought his blade up and to his side. "Sorry, I am, Qui-Lek. But die, you must."

The Force swirled around Qui-Lek, bathing him in invisible light.

Qui-Lek smiled.

"If that is my destiny."

Yoda leapt across his invisible line.

* * *

Kaine smiled.

In an instant, Yoda's tightly held personal shielding exploded into bright red flames.

The attack was relentless. Yoda leaped and bounced, slashing away at Qui-Lek's defenses. The Jedi Master was barely able to intercept one attack before another blow battered at him with equal power from a completely new direction.

Yoda's power seemed to be growing by the second.

The potency of the focus between the warriors surprised and delighted the Dark Lord. The air crackled with power. The Jedi would fight to the end, without question.

Somehow, despite the intensity of Yoda's barrage, the Jedi did not falter. The energy that surrounded him seemed to strengthen with each blow; he seemed to be in complete control.

Kaine could see no fear in him—only resolve.

* * *

Qui-Lek blinked the sweat out of his eyes just as another strike reverberated against his blade.

_There is no emotion; there is peace. _

Qui-Lek pushed hard against Yoda's surprisingly powerful strength.

The Migru Master sailed gracefully backwards and landed lightly on the ground only meters away.

"Yoda…please. Don't do this."

The corners of Yoda's mouth drew downward. Sad. Almost…regretful?

Yoda's voice broke and was barely audible above the wind. "Protect my home, I must."

"The _Jedi_ are your home!"

Yoda's eyes moistened. He dropped his head. "Not any more."

A whisper in the Force. Qui-Lek leapt aside and barely avoided an uprooted tree from impaling him. Resigned, he tightened his grip on his lightsaber hilt and rushed at his friend.

_There is no ignorance; there is knowledge._

Qui-Lek breathed heavily as he slipped more deeply into the Force, channeling the energy of the Light into every part of his being. His muscles burned. He pushed the pain aside and extended his senses beyond the confines of the battle.

Another void?

Knitting his brow, Qui-Lek glanced toward the emptiness but saw nothing.

In that instant, Yoda planted both his feet into Qui-Lek's midsection in a powerful leaping kick. Qui-Lek's breath left him; he folded around the point of impact as his knees gave way. It was only a desperate heaving of his sword above his head that prevented Yoda's blade from slashing through his back as the migru jumped away.

Drawing a grateful breath into his burning lungs, Qui-Lek pushed off the ground with the Force a split second before Yoda landed a mighty, downward strike. Yoda's blade seared into the soft dirt, and the smell of scorched earth assailed Qui-Lek's nose.

The distance Qui-Lek had put between them offered a welcome respite and the Jedi Master lowered his blade.

Steadying his breathing, Qui-Lek desperately searched the Force for any sign of light.

A tiny sliver called out. Understanding dawned.

"Yoda." Qui-Lek could hear the desperation in his own voice. He ignored it. "Migruna will only be safe if you turn away from this darkness!"

If Yoda heard him through his haze of rage, Qui-Lek could not tell. Yoda's only response was to grasp his lightsaber tightly with his other hand. In an instant, Yoda was sailing through the air toward him.

Qui-Lek nodded.

_There is no passion; there is serenity._

The strength behind Yoda's attacks was growing, while Qui-Lek could feel his own strength slipping with each deflected blow. If he allowed this to continue, Yoda would wear him down. He decided to go on the offensive.

Gathering the Force to him, Qui-Lek pushed hard. The effect was immediate and unexpected. Yoda hurtled into a nearby tree, dropping his lightsaber as he slipped to the ground.

Qui-Lek crossed the distance in an instant, raising his blade above his head for the kill.

Qui-Lek froze.

Light?

He turned for an instant toward the source and found a tiny migru boy, small even for his species. On his face was a look of utter dismay. He glanced toward Yoda and his eyes widened more.

A warning exploded in the Force.

Qui-Lek's eyes caught a glint from the red blade as it burned through his chest.

He glanced down at Yoda's lightsaber hilt as it jutted out of his body. He hardly noticed when his knees gave way causing him to crash hard against the ground. Before the boy's gaze slid from his view, he forced himself to smile.

An earsplitting, agonizing scream tore through the forest. Only distantly did Qui-Lek realize that it came from the youngling.

As he lay on his side, Qui-Lek's entire field of view filled with the forest floor. The boy's anguish resonated in the Force like a beacon of light. Compassion washed over the dying Jedi Master and he soaked it in.

_There is no death; there is the Force._


	15. Chapter 11, Nura, Part 1

**Chapter 11**

**Nura, Part I**

"_What if the darkness swallows me?" _

"What do you mean, padawan?"

Yoda closed his eyes. He could not shake the vision from his mind. "I...I had another dream last night."

"Tell me."

Yoda stared out at the trees in the center of the Temple courtyards. "You've been very patient with me, Master. I thank you for this. You've told me how I might fight the Sith." Yoda leaned down and picked up a pebble from the garden path. He moved his thumb over the coarse surface, frowning.

As he usually did, Rimasiss placed his hands behind his back and waited. Yoda glanced up at his Master's patient face and felt a surge of calming energy between them. Yoda breathed it in.

Finally, he spoke of the nightmare. Darkness had swallowed everything. He had run as far and as hard as he could, but the darkness had gained on him. Before long, there was no light to be found anywhere. The absolute blackness had brought a cold with it so profound that Yoda's insides seemed to freeze in an instant. He had awoken on his cot shivering, alone, and feeling nothing but desolation.

Rimasiss nodded, as if he knew precisely what his padawan was describing. At length, the Jedi Master extended his palm and called Yoda's lightsaber to his hand.

The silence between them grew deeper as Rimasiss scrutinized the weapon, turning it over and examining it from every angle.

The sudden snap accompanying the eruption of green energy from the blade tore through the stillness between them, and the air was abruptly filled with a steady hum.

Rimasiss' gaze settled on Yoda.

"Why do the Jedi use lightsabers, Yoda?"

Yoda drew his brow tight in confusion and concentration. Master Rimasiss had a habit of asking questions to draw a greater truth to the surface. Yoda searched his feelings desperately to find that truth.

Only simple answers came to him, but he felt compelled to speak. "It is very useful in combat, Master. One can protect many from an assortment of weapons while also pressing an attack. I can only surmise that its versatility is why we use it."

Rimasiss chuckled. "Of course, there is some truth to that." He looked back to the glowing blade again and swung it high in a graceful arc. The hum of the weapon sang softly as it moved through the air. "Surely there are other tools at our disposal for this purpose, no? A Jedi does not need_ a lightsaber for these purposes with the Force as his ally, after all." _

Yoda closed his eyes and listened to the gentle sound produced by his blade.

"It is a symbol?"

"Go on…."

Yoda opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on his Master's seemingly expectant eyes. "The lightsaber represents the essence of the Jedi's power—the connection to the light."

Rimasiss nodded. "In the darkest of dark Yoda, you must remember that the light is always there."

Yoda lowered his head. "But how do I call on it? How do I find the source?"

Rimasiss lowered the beam of energy so that it hummed only inches away from Yoda's face. "How does the blade find the source, padawan?"

Yoda stared at the particles dancing within the beam.

"From within?"

"Yes, padawan." Rimasiss deactivated the blade and handed the hilt to Yoda. "You are the source."

Yoda nodded.

He stared at the lightsaber as if seeing it for the first time.

"This is what it means to be Jedi."

* * *

Yoda stared at red beam of energy emanating from the back of his fallen friend, panting.

A distant scream grew louder by the moment, and he tore his gaze away to find the source.

Yoda's hand went to shield his eyes instinctively as a bright blue torrent of light poured from the center of the sound. Yoda shut his eyes tight, confusion wafting over him. There was something familiar about the light. Something he knew.

At once, the scream was gone. Only the steady rustle of leaves interrupted the sudden silence.

Carefully, Yoda opened his eyes.

His jaw clenched.

Standing over the fallen Jedi, a migru child sobbed quietly.

Yoda stepped toward them.

The boy knelt next to the Jedi, his hand resting tenderly on Qui-Lek's shoulder. Yoda stopped a meter away, his chest so tight he could hardly breathe.

The boy looked up at Yoda. The grief he had shown only moments before seemed to have fallen away. On his face, Yoda found nothing but…acceptance?

"Almost gone, he is, Master Yoda," the boy said matter-of-factly. "Say goodbye, you should."

Yoda shook his head and lowered his eyes.

"I know you," Yoda whispered.

"My name is Broga," the boy replied. "Told me once, you did, that many dangers a Jedi faced."

The memory struck Yoda hard, and his head spun.

"Expect, I did not, that from other Jedi, this danger could come."

Yoda's knees buckled suddenly. His palms landed hard against the soft earth.

"Meant to kill him…I did not." Yoda's throat grew tighter and he tried desperately to swallow.

The boy nodded. "But kill him, you did."

"Unforgivable, this is."

"No…." Qui-Lek's voice rose from behind his turned back and Yoda lifted his head, startled. In a moment, Yoda found himself in front of Qui-Lek. The Master of the Jedi Order's breaths were short and labored.

With apparent great effort, Qui-Lek looked up at Yoda and smiled. He coughed briefly before seeming to concentrate as he drew a deep breath. His eyes regained focus. His voice was clear and strong.

"There is no death; Only the Force."

Yoda started to reply but halted as his eyes widened in surprise.

Qui-Lek's light began to dissipate. With it, his body seemed to fade. Yoda glanced up at Broga, wondering if the boy was as surprised as he was. Broga caught Yoda's glance and smiled.

Silence.

Yoda tore his gaze away from the child and looked back at his fallen friend. The last sign of the great Jedi's form grew translucent and then disappeared altogether. For a brief moment, the instrument of his death hung in the air.

Then, a thud as it struck the ground and deactivated.

Silence.

Yoda nodded.

He stared at the lightsaber as if seeing it for the first time.

* * *

Kaine blinked several times, trying to make sense of what he had seen.

Without question, the Jedi had disappeared.

Yoda!

Kaine peered at the migru in the Force and watched in dismay as the Force surged and twisted about him. He had to move quickly.

* * *

Yoda stared at the space where the lightsaber had hung only moments before.

He lowered his gaze once again to the deactivated hilt on the forest floor. What had just happened? Qui-Lek had somehow joined with the Force without the Great Burning.

A shaft of sunlight slipped through the trees and glinted off the chrome metal.

_There is no death; Only the Force._

Broga stood.

Yoda looked up at the migru child.

The boy smiled.

_Cold._

"No…."

Broga glanced above Yoda's head, his eyes widening.

A firm, frigid hand grasped Yoda's shoulder. He closed his eyes.

"Go now, boy. Tell your family they have very little time."

Yoda looked up at Broga, who stared intently at him.

Yoda nodded.

Broga turned and ran into the woods.

"Come, Yoda. Our Master awaits our return."

Yoda stood.

Silently, Yoda moved toward the shuttle.

"Are you forgetting something, Yoda?"

Yoda paused, his ears drooping low as he turned toward the Sith Lord behind him. His throat felt dry, harsh. "Forgotten nothing, I have."

Kaine bent down and picked up the lightsaber. "I believe this is yours, is it not?"

Yoda stared at the weapon in Kaine's hand. Sunlight glinted off its surface with maddening complexity as the trees swayed in the wind. He glanced down at his belt.

A lightsaber hung loosely there.

_His_ lightsaber.

Not one taken from a dead would-be Sith apprentice. The one _he_ had built.

He turned towards the ship.

"Forgotten nothing, I have."


	16. Chapter 11, Nura, Part 2

**Chapter 11 **

**Nura, Part II**

Silence.

Appreciation for noiseless contemplation was something the Jedi and the Sith had in common. It was only in true silence that one could really hope to hear the soft whispers of the Force. For the Jedi, no doubt this was how they made weighty decisions—patiently waiting for guidance from the Force. For the Sith, the process was more active. One silenced the body and mind, listening to the trickling currents of the Force, actively selecting the one that was desired and following it to the source. True mastery of oneself and the environment could only occur if one was willing to descend into the stillness, grasp the tendrils of power, and conform the will of the Force to one's desires.

But the quiescence here was…disquieting.

The oppressive quiet that permeated the pilot's cabin thickened with each passing moment. Kaine busied himself by making slight course corrections as the shuttle broke free of Migruna III's atmosphere and the star field filled the viewscreen. He glanced sidelong at Yoda repeatedly, but the Migru Master's eyes remained as stubbornly closed as they had been since they had lifted off from the planet.

Kaine had endlessly tried to discern something—anything—from the tiny ball of flesh that sat across from him. He had found nothing. Yoda was as invisible in the Force as Darth Tyú could be when she chose.

Frowning, Kaine entered into the navigation console a new course that would set them on a lazy, arcing path toward his large, spheroid ship. There was no rush.

Dorran turned to his side and stared intently at Yoda. Something had happened. Something was amiss. Yoda was…different.

He could not attribute his knowledge of this fact to the Force—in this matter, he could learn nothing there. He just _knew_.

The blanket of stillness grew more stifling.

Repressing the urge to gasp for breath, Kaine decided that passivity at this time might prove fatal.

"I don't suppose you could explain what happened to the Jedi after you slew him, can you?"

Yoda's eyes remained shut, but Kaine detected a definite perturbation in the Force.

Finally, Yoda opened his left eye and smiled. Unpleasantly.

Kaine's stomach tightened.

"Nervous you must be now, hmmm?" Yoda's tone was quiet, but his sudden break from serenity reverberated loudly in Kaine's ears. Kaine wondered if it was the strength of the migru's voice or the danger in his tone.

Kaine swallowed hard and kept his face inscrutably calm. He managed to maintain the same level of control in his voice. "Why would I be nervous?"

Yoda chuckled with seemingly genuine amusement as he leaned his head against the back of his chair and placed his hands on both armrests. He looked, for all the galaxy, like an Emperor on his throne.

Kaine glanced anxiously at the navigation computer and contemplated taking a more direct route back to the ship.

Shaking off his apprehension, Kaine turned away from Yoda and faced the viewscreen before speaking again. He lowered his voice to ensure any traces of concern in it were duly hidden.

"You believe I am nervous because when we return, my Master will likely select you as her new apprentice." Yoda chortled more loudly and clasped his hands across his stomach. Kaine sighed. "You believe I am nervous because once that happens, I will become irrelevant."

Yoda stopped laughing but continued to smile as he settled his gaze on Dorran. "Untrue, this is?"

Kaine smiled. "I'll never be irrelevant, Yoda." He turned to face the Migru Master, squaring his shoulders. "Who do you think designed that ship? Who do you think holds the knowledge and the expertise to control the destiny of the Sith'ari? Master Tyú may have nothing but disdain for me, but she is no fool. She cannot hope to accomplish her goals without me. She knows this. She would rather violate the Rule of Two than lose my services."

Yoda grew silent, and Kaine felt a surge of pride.

Yoda grinned.

Kaine drew his brows tightly together.

"Nervous, you are."

"Hardly."

"See through you, I can."

"Enough!"

Yoda leaned forward, his eyes filling with menace. "Wish to ally yourself with _me_, you do. Convinced, you are, that destroy your master I will, before I let Migruna III die."

The words hung in the air.

Kaine contemplated responding when Yoda leaned back in his chair and smiled again.

"Wiser than I gave you credit for, you are."

A red light flashed on the main console between them, and they both glanced in its direction.

Kaine found that his throat seemed excessively tight. He straightened. "That is a private communication from Master Tyú. I will take it in the next cabin. Please remain here."

Yoda closed his eyes. "As you wish."

* * *

"What of the Jedi?"

Rizza's holographic image hovered in the air above Kaine's kneeling form. He kept his head low, staring only at the hem of her black cloak, which was tinged with the bluish distortion of the holotransmission. Kaine fought down the bile that threatened to erupt from his stomach every time he was in his master's presence lately. This "relationship" had nearly run its course.

"Yoda killed him."

Silence.

"You witnessed this yourself?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"What happened next?"

Kaine paused and looked squarely into Rizza's holographic eyes, contemplating his response. "We returned to the ship."

Rizza's eyes narrowed. "Why have you closed yourself from my perceptions, _apprentice_?"

Dorran held her gaze, unblinking. "I do not wish for Yoda to sense my thoughts."

After an eternity, Rizza nodded. "A wise course of action, my apprentice. His turn to the dark side is nearly complete. He has already mastered skills it takes most decades to learn." She smiled. "He will make a great Sith."

Kaine nodded. "Indeed."

The light from the holoemitter blinked out, and Rizza vanished without another word. Kaine stared at the now-empty space, frowning.

Perhaps the relationship had ended already.

* * *

As Kaine and Yoda stepped off the ramp and onto the durasteel grating in the main hangar bay, the floor began to tremble. Kaine looked up frantically.

"No!" Kaine immediately ran for the entrance. "The pre-fire checks have not been completed yet!"

Kaine had nearly reached the door when he noticed that Yoda was not beside him. He turned around quickly to see Yoda standing still, seemingly rooted to his position next to the ship.

"Don't you understand what's happening, Yoda?" Kaine beckoned for the Migru Master. "She's going to fire!"

Yoda nodded.

The rumbling stopped, and Kaine's stomach tightened.

The ship suddenly jolted and the floor gave way. Kaine toppled helplessly onto the deck and skidded across the metal grating. A wall on the far side of the room halted his acceleration. Hard.

Dazed, Kaine tried to regain his footing. _What on Korun's dirt?_

He grabbed hold of the wall and pulled himself upright.

_Yoda!_

Kaine searched the hanger bay.

Gone.

Kaine contemplated searching the ship, but he knew that would be pointless. He knew precisely where Yoda was headed. A sudden explosion rocked the ship again, and the bay tilted sideways. Kaine was prepared and kept his footing with the aid of the Force.

He needed to get to engineering fast.

Focusing on the doorway that was now several meters above, Kaine called on the Force and leapt through the opening. As he landed, a third explosion erupted.

Fighting the dizzying sensation of the ship's inertial systems falling offline and reengaging in seemingly random patterns, the Dark Lord ran along the wall down the corridor.

* * *

Rizza stared at the console before her, frowning.

Alarms filled the control room.

She raised a brow and entered a code into the computer. The klaxons shut down, and she punched in another sequence. The auxiliary inertial dampeners engaged, and the ship righted itself almost instantly. Nodding, she walked toward the main firing console.

She looked up at the viewscreen and frowned. "Your little diversion serves only to anger me, Yoda."

"Fire at Migruna, and destroy you I will." His voice was firm. Determined.

"And you think you have that within your power, my love?" Rizza turned and leaned against the console.

"Wish to test me, you do?"

Rizza lowered her hood, smiling. "I don't suppose you'd rather watch Migruna burn with me and make love in the light of the blaze, would you?"

Yoda lowered his head.

"Regret destroying you, I would."

"I'm sure." Rizza turned back to the console and began entering a new series of commands. "I have entered the sequence for an automatic firing in two minutes. I am the only one who can stop it."

Yoda's jaw clenched noticeably.

Rizza smiled as she watched red flames of the dark side begin to erupt from the dark shields that Yoda seemed to be trying desperately to hold in place. When he spoke, his voice was barely audible. "Have the power to stop you, I do not."

Rizza walked toward Yoda and stopped a careful three meters away. "Yes, you can."

Yoda looked up. "How?"

Rizza widened her smile. "Ask me."

"And?"

"Pledge your allegiance to the Sith."

Yoda held her gaze.

He nodded.

Rizza grinned.

Yoda lowered his head.

Smiling proudly, Rizza began to turn toward the bank of consoles when she caught the movement of Yoda's robe from the corner of her eye. Confused, she turned back toward Yoda in time to see him pull his robe aside.

She watched in astonishment as his lightsaber slipped from his belt and flew into his hand.

The distinctive hum of his blade filled the room as the green blade erupted from his fist.

His face was firm. Calm.

In the Force, the voided shielding dissipated.

She squinted.

A bright blue light seemed to be pouring from the Migru Master. She closed her eyes more tightly, but the light continued to erupt.

Like a fountain.

A Fountain of Light.

"On the bargaining table," he whispered, "my allegiance is not."


	17. Chapter 12, Bellum, Part 1

**Chapter 12**

**Bellum, Part I**

The engineering bay was a flurry of activity as maintenance droids scurried in myriad directions, desperately attempting to put out fires and shut down sparking electrical circuits. Kaine surveyed the controlled chaos. His gaze swept the entire bay, stopping to linger on one vital piece of equipment after another before continuing on for a full assessment.

The droids were making remarkable progress despite being completely uncoordinated in their efforts. The two primary detonation points had been contained by emergency containment fields, and the auxiliary reactors had already been brought on line. The redundant systems that his master had derided during initial construction had proved invaluable in holding the battle station together. Barely.

Yoda's placement of the charges had been prodigious. The first blast had shut down the main reactor. With only the auxiliary reactors available to supply the main deflector, the particle-beam power had been reduced to less than ten percent of maximum output. The second blast had proved more crippling than the first, destroying the main inertial dampening systems, the primary ion drive coils, and the gravitational control systems. As a result, the auxiliary reactors had to operate at full power just to maintain operation of the backup systems that kept the battle station from tearing itself apart.

Remarkable.

Kaine frowned.

Somehow, Yoda had located and deciphered the plans to the station in the main computer, obtained detonation devices, slipped through Kaine's substantial security protocols, and planted charges in just the right locations. Even more astounding to Kaine was that he had managed to accomplish all this—completely disable the battlestation—in less than an hour!

Not completely.

The fire-control systems were still online. The battle station could still engage the main deflector weapon, though at a much lower capability than before. The weapon's power would likely still destabilize the planet's orbit, but there would be no spectacular explosion. Of course, taking that course of action would be a death knell to the ship. It would divert all power from the already overtaxed auxiliary reactors. The cascade of systems failures would undoubtedly end in a catastrophic explosion within minutes of firing the weapon.

Brilliant.

Destroying Migruna III would eliminate her attackers at the same time. Kaine shook his head and wondered silently if Yoda had truly understood the implications of his actions. Perhaps Yoda had simply hoped that by shutting down the main reactor, the planet would be safe. More likely, Yoda believed that any attempt to fire the weapon would be halted by the ensuing overload. Kaine smiled. He was convinced that the weapon would fire before the systems failures began. The firing would be brief, but effectual.

Kaine pursed his lips as he contemplated his options.

The sudden slowdown of activity in the bay brought to Kaine's immediate attention the fact that the ship was no longer being wracked by violent gravitational shears. Knowing full well that the droids would have assigned lowest priority to correcting a fault in the artificial gravity systems, he understood at once that Rizza had corrected the problem. His master seemed to have a much greater understanding of the construction of his battle station than she had let on. The abrupt understanding that she did not need him opened a void in his stomach.

_Wish to ally yourself with _me_, you do. Convinced, you are, that destroy your master I will, before I let Migruna III die._

Kaine frowned.

An unexpected dizzying surge in the Force as powerful as the earlier gravity shears sent Kaine staggering into the bulkhead. His suddenly sweaty palms made holding on to the durasteel walls nearly impossible. He turned and fell against the cold metal surface, leaning hard to remain standing.

Kaine snapped his head upward and directed his gaze at the ceiling. To any other being, all that was visible were the scurrying movements of more droids along the solid metal crown above engineering. To the Dark Lord of the Sith, the ceiling was not even there. His perceptions slipped past the physical obstructions to vision and connected him directly with the source of the disturbance in the Force.

His eyes widened.

A deluge of light spouted from a single point and cascaded about the control room above, crashing hard against a seemingly impenetrably void. The surges in the Force were overwhelming, but Kaine could not look away.

He peered harder.

Yoda was an irresistible force.

Rizza was an immovable object.

The implications of his precarious position regardless of the outcome of this confrontation came in the form of a chill that ran from the base of his spine to the tips of his fingers.

Kaine closed his eyes against the scene and leaned his head against the wall. Thoughts and images flashed through his mind at a dazzling rate. His suddenly dry throat made his attempts to swallow painful. He clenched his fists.

For years he had waited. He had been patient. He had planned. He had schemed. He had followed orders.

He pounded his fist against the wall.

Enough.

Kaine pushed himself off the wall. Glancing briefly back into the engineering bay as he headed out the doorway, he scowled at the warm-up sequence in the fire-control systems. A quick mental calculation told him that the weapon would fire in the next two minutes.

He was running out of time.

* * *

Calm.

Yoda turned slightly to center himself on Rizza. In the Force, she was an abyss. She seemed to be gathering the Force to her. Yoda smiled inwardly. Whatever darkness she drew on, he would counter with a more powerful calling of the Light. No matter how powerfully she struck at him, he was prepared.

Yoda was ready for anything.

Except laughter.

It began with a snicker, barely audible above the hum of his waiting lightsaber. The snicker became a chuckle. Her smile widened. Within moments her mouth fell open, and the chilling sound of maniacal laughter filled the space.

At length, her laughter subsided, and Rizza placed her hands implacably behind her back. She lifted her chin, pointing it at Yoda with a broad smile.

Yoda drew the corners of his mouth downward. It felt as if they would never turn upward again.

Rizza chuckled.

"Not on the bargaining table?" She seemed genuinely amused. Yoda blinked. "Yoda, my love, your allegiance has _always_ been on the bargaining table! What do you think this is about?" She walked back to the console. When she turned to face him again, her face was contorted with rage. "We are at war, Yoda! Don't you ever forget it! The Jedi are the scourge of the galaxy. We are the solution to the rampant machinations of the Order."

It was Yoda's turn to smile. "Delusional you are, if think, you do, that two Sith can destroy the entire Order."

"And the Jedi think the Sith are arrogant!" Rizza spat. "There are only two sides to this conflict, Yoda. It is us against them for all eternity."

"The imbalance you create in the Force will be wiped out."

"By this 'Chosen One' who doesn't exist?" She chuckled and waved her hand dismissively. "You and Dorran can debate that ancient prophecy all you want. I, for one, believe in the here and now."

She moved toward Yoda, a pleading look on her face.

"Think of it, my love. We could end this war together. With you at my side, we could destroy the Jedi. We can outlive them all. We could rule the Galaxy!"

Yoda shook his head. "Learned your lessons, I have."

"Not all of them, Yoda. There is still much I can teach you."

"Not interested in what you teach, I am." Yoda glanced up at the chronometer. One minute, thirty-two seconds. His gaze drifted to the viewscreen, filled with the image of his home. "Stop this, Rizza. Destroying your home, too, you are."

"Is that a request, Yoda?" Rizza smiled. "You know the price."

Yoda nodded. He brought his lightsaber in front of him and angled it downward toward his former lover.

"Indeed. But know the price _you_ do not."

Rizza's brows drew together.

"Enough of this!" There was no amusement in her voice. "This is your last chance." She flicked her wrist, and the intricate chrome hilt of a lightsaber appeared in her hand.

"Join me."

"Never."

Rizza's lips curled into a snarl.

"Then die!"

Lightning erupted from her hand.

Yoda felt himself in the grip of invisible hands, hurtling into a wall and being struck simultaneously by her electrical storm. The suddenness of the attack was only slightly more disorienting than the coordination.

His body crashed hard, and his lightsaber slipped from his fingers, skittering across the obsidian floor.

Power continued to engulf him.

After an eternity, the pain subsided.

Rizza crossed the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps.

"You're going to die today, Yoda."

The smell of burning cloth drifted up into his face. Yoda extended his hand weakly and called his fallen lightsaber. It rose from the floor and glided through the air, only to stop halfway between them.

Rizza smiled.

"Your weapon is of no use to you, Yoda. You cannot face the power of the dark side. You aren't strong enough."

Yoda swallowed hard and drew a deep breath.

He visualized his weapon.

He could feel the currents of dark energy grasping at it.

_There is no emotion; there is peace._

In an instant the hilt alighted to his hand, and Yoda hurled himself over Rizza's head, landing lightly on the other side of the room.

"Die today, I may."

His weapon sprung to life.

"But die at your hands, I will not."


	18. Chapter 12, Bellum, Part 2

**Chapter 12**

**Bellum, Part II**

"_Master! I've been looking everywhere for you! We're going to be late!" _

Nothing.

"Master, please. We don't have time for this!"

Nothing.

"Master Rimasiss—"

"Patience, Padawan." The Jedi Master's voice had a tinge of amusement to it. Yoda swallowed his annoyance. "I promise you that no one is going to cut your braid without you there." Rimasiss turned sighed. "They can wait. Now please, come in from the doorway. You're letting too much light in."

Obediently, Yoda lowered his head and stepped into the chamber. The door whooshed shut and the room was plunged into darkness.

Yoda concentrated on his breathing while waiting for his eyes to adjust. The blackness was oppressive.

Light.

There.

And there!

Yoda squinted at the sudden bursts of illumination on either side of the room.

"What do you see, Yoda?"

"Red spots," Yoda replied dryly.

Rimasiss' chuckle resonated well in the silent chamber. "Focus, Yoda. As you've said, we don't have much time."

Yoda nodded silently and stared towards the sources of light. After a moment the glare resolved into a miniscule spinning orb floating several meters above the ground on the far side of the room. When Yoda looked to his left, an apparently identical sphere hovered at the opposite end of the room. Only apparently, Yoda was sure, because he was sure Rimasiss had a final lesson for him.

Yoda watched the orbs closely. Finally, he saw it. Smiling to himself proudly, he spoke. "I see two light orbs, Master. They are similar in virtually every way but they are not identical. The one on the left is spinning in the opposite direction from the one on the right."

"Well done, Yoda." Rimasiss' voice had a definite smile to it. "Well done."

Yoda sighed relief. "Can we go now? If we hurry we can avoid being late."

Rimasiss snorted. "Yoda, you see but you have not seen." The Jedi Master turned at last and walked toward Yoda. He bent low and grasped Yoda's shoulders, turning him to face the center of the room. "I don't have much time left either, my friend. Allow an old man to show you one final truth."

Yoda's cheeks flushed. "Of course, Master…I'm…sorry."

The light from the floating spheres glinted off Rimasiss' smile. "No need." The Jedi Master sat next to Yoda, cross-legged. His voice fell to a reverent hush. "Today is your last day as a padawan, Yoda. It is an important day. I wanted to give you something."

Yoda glanced at his Master, confused. Rimasiss was never this congenial with him. The Master seemed to know what Yoda was thinking because he started to chuckle.

"Today will close the door on our Master-padawan relationship and open the path to our everlasting brotherhood, Yoda."

Yoda smiled. "Thank you, Master. You have given me more than I could possibly hope for. I do not want for—"

"Shhh…" Rimasiss put his fingers to his lips and glanced at the glowing globes. "Watch."

Suddenly the two lights started to move toward each other. As the distance between them shrunk, they accelerated. Rimasiss began to narrate.

"The two orbs are a design of mine to mimic particle and anti-particle behavior." Rimasiss paused and watched as the orbs approached each other with blinding speed. Yoda sat transfixed, finally understanding that the particles would meet directly in front of them.

In short order, the particles found each other. Surprisingly, they glanced by one another rather than clashing together as Yoda had expected. Before he had grasped what had happened, the particles had slowered, reversed course, and started to move toward one another again. Again they missed each other and spun around.

"Notice the dance they engage in, Yoda. They swing each other around like lovers meeting for the first time, hovering and circling, unsure how to proceed. And then…" The two particles suddenly entered a stunningly fast and rapidly tightening spiral. "…they decide."

Yoda watched in silence as the two particles moved faster and faster towards each other. After an eternity, they were so close to each other it was impossible to distinguish one's light from that of the other. A moment after that, the room exploded with light that centered on the dancers.

Silence.

"They are gone…" Yoda was surprised to hear the croak in his voice.

"Indeed." Rimasiss stood. The lights in the room came up. "I have run this scenario hundreds of times. The specifics are details of probabilities, of course, but the pattern is almost always the same."

"Almost? There's an alternative?"

Rimasiss rubbed his chin. "I once saw a rather odd thing happen. Both orbs rushed into each other and did their dance. Just when I was sure they were going to go into the annhilation phase, they both spun away from each other at astonishing speed."

Yoda's eyes widened. "What happened next?"

Rimasiss smiled wryly. "It took a while, but they eventually turned around and annihilated each other."

"Oh."

"It is the way of things, Yoda."

Yoda nodded.

"The way of the Force."

* * *

One minute…

Twenty breaths…

Fifty beats of the heart…

One thousand clashes of Light against Dark.

Had this battle been recorded in the annals of the Jedi Archive, it would have been among the most celebrated.

The exchanges were maddeningly fast, accelerating with every second. Within moments the emerald blade of the Jedi and the ruby blade of the Sith became nothing more than a haze of deadly particle energy.

The two combatants moved as quickly as their blades, whirling about each other trying desperately to gain the upper hand.

The Force surged between them with every crash of their blades. Each slash was filled with all the power that each could call upon. Every deflection was an attack.

The battle harkened back to the final moments of the Great Sith War and the waning days of the Light and Dark War. In those dying breaths of the great Sith Army, power had pitched and swelled between the Jedi and the Sith. Over five centuries later, the war had begun anew.

But this battle would never be recorded in the holocrons on Coruscant…

This conflict was not about the balance of power between the Jedi and the Sith.

This engagement was not about the nature of the Force. Not any more.

This fight was personal.

The deadly ballet of two lovers…

Two warriors…

Fifty beats of the heart…

One minute.

* * *

Kaine rushed into the main hangar bay, glancing up at the ceiling as he felt new surges in the Force. He scanned the scattered ships that had been thrown about during the gravity shears, settling his gaze on a tiny craft that hung in the air with twin-ion engines and a permanent hyperspace ring attached.

The Dark Lord smiled.

The ship had remained undamaged.

Perfect.

* * *

Rizza grunted as yet another blow rained down on her from above. Futilely she thrust her weapon towards her attacker, knowing all to well that he was no longer there. She spun toward the new warning in the Force and met Yoda's blade again.

"You cannot defeat me, Yoda. I'm sure you can sense it by now."

She could sense nothing about Yoda's intentions through the blinding light that poured from him. No matter.

"My ally is the Force," Yoda replied simply as he leapt again.

Rizza slipped to the side and contemplated her options. Yoda was a master of Ataro and his skill was proving insurmountable.

Clash.

Rizza leapt across the room, trying to collect her thoughts.

Having honed her lightsaber skills in the Soresu defensive fighting style, Rizza knew she could keep Yoda at bay for an eternity.

Impasse.

Rizza's knitted her brow.

Yoda needed to watch the destruction of Migruna III if there was to be any hope of saving him from the light.

It was time to end this now.

They only had thirty seconds…

* * *

Yoda sensed the shift at the apex of his leap.

For a brief moment Rizza seemed lost in thought, her brows knitted tight, eyes distant. As the artificial gravity of the station pulled his form out of the air in a graceful arc toward her, he saw the physical manifestation of the change he had sensed.

Her lips curled into a snarl.

Her brow tightened.

Her jaw flexed.

She leapt.

A desperate heave in the Force changed the trajectory of his descent enough to keep her slashing attack from severing his arms and legs.

It was not enough to prevent the tip of her blade from slicing through his knee.

Yoda did not feel the damage done until he landed near the wall. As he placed his feet firm against the obsidian floor, he collapsed against the wall.

_NO!_

He sensed her sailing towards him, her lightsaber poised to deliver a killing blow.

Desperately he pushed himself off the wall with all his strength and slid a few meters out of reach. Rizza landed in the spot he had occupied only a moment before.

Crimson particles retracted into her blade.

She turned.

She smiled.

"I'm sorry, my love, but I really wanted you to see this."

Yoda stared down at his wounded knee. Fortunately the wound had been cauterized, most lightsaber wounds were. Unfortunately, he could not stand.

_Hmm…a problem, this could be._

Yoda glanced at the chronometer.

Ten seconds.

_There is no emotion; there is peace._

Rizza swept an errant lock of hair back into place.

Eight seconds.

Yoda called his deactivated blade to his hand and clipped it to his belt.

Rizza arched her brow.

_There is no passion; there is serenity._

Yoda struggled to his feet. After several failed attempts, he called the Force to his aid and infused his knee with power.

Five…

"Rizza, turn me to the dark side, this will not."

"Perhaps. But if you do not turn at least I will have the pleasure of watching you suffer."

Four…

They both turned to the screen. Yoda tightened his fists.

Three…

"I really do love you, Yoda."

Two…

Yoda relaxed his hands.

"I will not turn."

One...

"I know."

_There is no death; there is only the Force._


	19. Chapter 13, Adannu, Part 1

**PART III: DESTINY  
**

**Chapter 13**

**Adannu, Part I**

Fire…

_A narrow emerald beam of charged particles lanced out…_

Rizza focused her attention on the Jedi Master…

_The blue-green planet seemed to vibrate under the brief barrage…_

She peered deeper…

_At the impact point, towering flames erupted…_

Past flesh and bone…

_The inferno spread across the small continent…_

Past the blue flames of Light that surrounded him…

_The sudden deaths of thousands screamed out in the Force…_

To the glowing ember of rage…

_Silence._

As suddenly as it began, the spear of energy died. For an instant, an oppressive peace seemed to fill all of existence.

The Ember glowed

Rizza smiled.

All was as it should be. A simple push was all that was required…

* * *

As Kaine stepped of from the tiny craft, a sudden shriek of death pierced through his extensive shields. He thought he had been prepared for this moment. He had convinced himself that the destruction of the planet would be meaningless. He was Sith. The Sith do not suffer due to loss of life like the Jedi do.

As his knees gave way and he fell to the floor, he realized his error. The Sith feel just as much as the Jedi—more, even—for the Sith use their emotions to fuel their power. Detachment from those emotions could only occur after they had been experienced and reflected upon.

Kaine waited…and suffered.

Silence.

For an instant, the deathly quiet wrapped itself around him with cold insistence.

The battle station had grown equally still. Ensconcing himself in the icy depths of the Dark Side of the Force, Kaine breathed deeply, drawing on its power, and stood. Glancing about the hanger, he settled his gaze on another undisturbed vessel, nestled between two damaged shuttles.

Then the durasteel beneath his feet gave way.

* * *

The Force warned her and she leapt.

Rizza landed gracefully on the balcony above but found no purchase. As she grasped desperately to the railing, she glared at Yoda. He continued to stand rigidly, apparently staring at nothing and seemingly unaffected by the intense tremors that rocked the station.

With sudden ferocity, klaxons blared.

Yoda remained still.

Rizza struggled to maintain her footing. Focusing her attention on the console before Yoda, Rizza shut down the alarms and began feverishly trying to engage the inertial dampening systems. With the use of her hands, this would have been a formidable task in and of itself as cascading failures shut down one access point after another. Using only the Force as her concentration was shaken with each horrendous shudder of the vessel, it was nearly impossible.

She focused her rage.

Yoda did this! He had planned it all along. He sabotaged the ship so that if the weapon was fired, the resulting power surges would destroy the battle station. She gazed again deeply at him, past the peripheral light.

The Ember remained.

It glowed hotter with each moment and the weak-willed Jedi was desperately trying to prevent it from igniting. Good. His mind was focused elsewhere.

Before her next exhale had left her lungs, Rizza had crossed the divide and stood at the console, rapidly engaging secondary systems. She hazarded a glance at Yoda, whose eyes remained closed as if deep in meditation.

Before long, Rizza was ahead of the cascades. She could not stop the inevitable but she could delay it for several minutes, maybe longer. A series of commands, and the quakes ended abruptly. A few moments more, and the station stilled. Sighing loudly, Rizza entered yet more instructions into the station's computers.

Darkness.

"I've had to shut down all life support, Yoda," she called out into the dark. "You may have destroyed this station but you have not saved Migruna and you will not have destroyed me."

Low rumbling vibrations began anew.

"We don't have much time," she could hear the crack in her voice. Was that desperation? Did she really want him so badly that she could not sacrifice him? No. If he would not join her, then he would be destroyed. She nodded. "Your choice, Yoda. Come with me and live, or die here alone…for nothing."

The disembodied sound of his voice came from behind her. "Destroyed Migruna III, you have not." She spun instantly, searching the darkness.

"Nonsense. We felt them die."

Now, the voice came from her side. "Died, many did. But live, many more will."

Rizza spun once again. "What game are you playing at, Yoda?" Rizza drew her lightsaber and its ruby glow pierced the darkness. "Migruna III is gone. Now join me or die." She swept her blade around, trying to anticipate where he might be.

Her sensitive ears picked up none of his breathing.

Her powers in the Force sensed none of his presence.

"Where _are_ you!"

"See for yourself."

The viewscreen suddenly lit up behind her and filled with the blue-green vista of Migruna III. The inferno on the main continent had already died down to the point that it was no longer visible from space.

No!

Her throat closed. "Impossible…"

"Wanted to see my power in the dark side, you did, hmmm?"

Rizza twisted toward the sound, now to her left. By the time her blade illuminated the darkness, there was nothing there but the far wall. The viewscreen deactivated and the control room plunged into darkness again.

"Yoda…please…"

"Wanted to reap the benefit of that power, you did, hmmm?"

For the first time in as long as she could remember, a new feeling crept up her spine. It was so foreign that she did not recognize it at first. It was cold. It caused the hairs on her arms to straighten. Her blood froze. Her chest pounded. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Yoda…" she swallowed, "there is so much I can teach you."

"Taught me all that you need to, you have."

Behind her.

She spun.

Too late.

A blur of emerald power burst through the dark.

Rizza met the strikes as rapidly as she could.

Faster and faster, the energy struck out.

"Yoda…please…"

Her weapon clattered against the floor and deactivated. It took several moments for her to realize that her hand was still attached to it.

She called on the darkness and struck out blindly with all the power at her disposal.

Lightning plunged into the space where the green energy had been but clashed harmlessly against a bulkhead.

Abruptly the electrical storm ended. It took far fewer moments for her to understand that she would never use that hand again. She dropped to her knees.

"I love you," she whispered.

Stepping out of the darkness, Yoda's face glowed ominously with the light from his blade. Rizza looked up into his eyes and searched for…what? Compassion? She stared into the Force and the Ember glowed brighter than ever.

Rizza nodded.

Very well.

The goal was all that mattered. The lives of those who stood before the result were merely obstacles to be overrun. She was Sith. She did not fear death. In death, she would achieve a greater victory than either Yoda or Kaine could ever imagine.

She lifted her head high and smiled.

Her voice had returned to its former strength. She could breathe again. Why had she ever been afraid? She had to accept. The will of the Force was complex and mysterious.

"Go ahead, Yoda." Rizza lifted herself higher, pushing her neck dangerously close to Yoda's extended blade. "Avenge Gandol. Avenge Prime Village! Take my life!"

Yoda's eyes glowered for an instant. The corners of his mouth turned downward as he raised his weapon high above his head.

A small chirping sound emanated from Rizza's chest.

"Master Tyú," Kaine's voice filled the silent room. "I have a ship ready for your escape. We have very little time. Leave Yoda and come immediately. We can find another apprentice."

Rizza pulled her brows together. What was Frigeus doing? She was not to be interrupted for anything. Her instructions were clear! A twist of the Force and the communicator shattered next to her breast.

She redirected her attention to Yoda, who stood frozen in place.

She focused all of her power and will at his mind.

"Do it!"

Darkness.

She knew he was gone before she saw the light break from the parting of the doors.

Rizza collapsed to the floor, spent.

Slowing her breathing, she contemplated her next move. In her fit of rage, she had stupidly destroyed her only means of contacting Frigeus directly. The vibrations of the floor grew in intensity.

Focusing her power in the Force, she reached out to find her apprentice. The two of them would regroup and further the plans of the Sith. The Sith would have their revenge.

Yoda would suffer.

She would make him watch as she dismantled his precious Jedi Order right before his eyes. Hate filled her. She would destroy everything that he held dear. She smiled as she felt power course through her being. Then she would destroy him.

Yoda would die at the hands of the Sith.

She stretched out with her feelings and was surprised to find Frigeus' presence so quickly. He was close.

Too close.

"Dorran?"

"Yes, my Master."

Rizza frowned, confused.

"How long have you been here?"

A bloodshine light pierced the darkness.

"Search your feelings, Master." Kaine's voice was low, threatening. "You know the answer to that question."

That feeling returned and Rizza swallowed hard. "Dorran," her voice cracked once again, "you pledged yourself to my teachings. You cannot do this."

A chilling sound rose above the rumbling of the vessel. She had never heard it from him before. It struck her as odd that after over thirty years together she had never heard her apprentice genuinely laugh.

It grew louder, more menacing.

"Kaine. There is much more I can teach you. Don't throw away the power I have to offer you."

The laughter grew.

"Dorran! Stop this! I am your Master."

Suddenly the laughter stopped and Rizza thought for a moment that she had somehow gotten through to him. The disdain on his face that brusquely appeared next to hers caused that hope to evaporate.

"Pathetic!" he spat.

"Dorran—"

"Enough!" Kaine's visage once again dissolved into the darkness.

"You treacherous fool! You cannot destroy me!"

The blade descended with blinding speed. The screams of warning in the Force only served to let her know that the target was her exposed neck.

As the darkness clouded her mind as well as her eyes, she smiled inwardly at the final words she would hear.

"Treachery is the way of the Sith."


	20. Chapter 13, Adannu, Part 2

**Chapter 13**

**Adannu, Part II**

Durasteel corridors were nothing but a blur as Yoda dashed through the hallways. Agony pulsed from his shattered knee with every step. Rather than block the pain receptors in his brain with the Force as he had been taught as a padawan, Yoda allowed the near-debilitating fire to occupy his racing mind.

Keeping his focus entirely on reaching the hangar bay, Yoda marshaled his will to swallow the torture he was inflicting on his body, turned hard on the next corner, and barreled down another hallway.

A sudden shift in the floor, and Yoda tumbled. He silently thanked the Force as the warning it whispered to him the instant before the violent quake rocked the ship enabled him to tuck into the fall. Clutching his wounded knee protectively as he toppled head over heels down the hallway, Yoda desperately called on the Force to overcome the power of inertia.

Abruptly cradled in the arms of the Force, Yoda's plummet halted. Hovering just above the shaking floor, he sunk deeper into himself and waited for the vibrations to subside. No longer under pressure, the fire in Yoda's knee receded to a dull ache. With no pain to distract him, and forced into this unexpected respite from his flight to the hangar, Yoda's mind wandered to the moment right before he began his flight.

What had happened?

He had planned to kill her. Despite the overwhelming sense of calm that had overcome him before facing her, the darkness had erupted the moment the weapon fired on Migruna. Each death had been an individual outcry in the Force.

All seven thousand, three hundred, and seven.

Yoda closed his eyes more tightly and bit back the tears that threatened to form. The rage that had exploded in his chest had surprised him. As hard as he had fought against it, the anger had clashed against his breastbone, scratching and seething and demanding release. He had wrestled with the writhing creature, confident the Force would light the way.

But he had found only darkness.

Rizza had stopped the destruction of the station, and it was clear that she had planned to escape. Migruna would never be safe as long as the Sith wanted her destroyed. The Force had told him this, and the creature had agreed. In an instant, the dark side of the Force had overwhelmed him, and Rizza's death had been assured.

What would have happened then?

Who would he have become?

It had felt so good to let the creature free. It had been a relief. In those brief moments as he tortured her, relishing her fear, Yoda had felt…powerful, invincible, strong. He had felt righteous in his rage. She deserved to die. No one could have stopped her but he. He was judge. He was jury. Most importantly, he was the executioner.

And he was just.

No.

It had been wrong.

Yoda whispered silent thanks to the Force for the timely communication from Kaine. The irony of owing his soul to a Sith was not lost on him.

The vibrations settled beneath him and Yoda lowered himself gently to the floor. Tearing a piece of cloth from his robes, he knelt down and appraised his injury. Rizza's attack had severed the cartilage and destroyed his knee cap. Yoda frowned. The wound would not be cured with bacta. An artificial replacement was anathema. Yoda tied the strip of cloth around the damage and stood.

Breathing deeply into the Force, Yoda harnessed the invisible energy that surrounded him and directed it to his leg.

The ground shook beneath him again.

Time was growing short.

Yoda ran.

* * *

The sudden surge in the Force clashed against Yoda as he turned down the last corridor to the hangar bay.

He stopped.

Thirty meters down the hallway, standing between Yoda and the entrance to the hangar, stood the last remaining Dark Lord of the Sith. Yoda was not sure how he knew this, but the truth of it rang deep into his soul.

Kaine had killed Rizza.

Yoda nodded.

It was done.

Pulling his robe aside, Yoda extended his hand and willed the chrome hilt of his lightsaber to his open palm. He stared at Kaine. Calm. Ready.

Emerald energy reflected off the durasteel walls.

"We can fight if you wish," Kaine called out. "But I'm quite certain that if we do, neither of us will survive."

Yoda sneered. "Too confident, you are! To kill a defenseless Sith, no great skill this takes."

Kaine laughed. "I was referring to the imminent destruction of this station, Yoda." The Dark Lord clasped his hands in front of him and leaned nonchalantly against the bulkhead, glancing down at his boots. "I'm quite certain you could defeat me in combat, as you did Rizza. At your peak, I'm quite certain you could do away with me in less than the five minutes this station has left." Kaine pushed himself off the wall and looked steadily at Yoda. "But you're not at your peak now, are you?"

Yoda contemplated the Sith who stood before him. There were only two. If he destroyed this Sith, or they died together, the menace would be over. The Force would be in balance. Yoda nodded. A Jedi must be willing to sacrifice.

He started down the hallway.

Kaine seemed to interpret the movement correctly. He moved away from the wall and drew his weapon, though he did not ignite it.

"Even if we die here, Yoda, that won't be the end of the Sith. My children will carry on in my stead." Kaine paced across the doorway but made no clear movement toward Yoda. "Except they will lack my discipline. They will lack my knowledge. Can you imagine how dangerous those powerful boys will be?"

Yoda gritted his teeth behind sealed lips as pain began to seep back into his leg.

He slowed.

"Destroy your children, the Jedi can." The pain was growing more intense.

Kaine pursed his lips contemplatively. "Perhaps…." Kaine locked his gaze on Yoda. "Of course, none of the Jedi are as powerful as you or Qui-Lek. Nor are they really prepared to deal with a threat like the Sith, are they? With the two most powerful Jedi dead, do you really believe the unprepared Jedi can hope to defeat warriors trained from birth to destroy them?"

Yoda stopped.

"Tell yourself it's the pain in your knee that has your attention and not my words, if it makes you feel better, Yoda." Kaine smiled. "But you and I are the only ones here."

Yoda stared at his leg.

"It is time, Yoda."

Yoda looked up, his brows tight. "For what, Frigeus?"

"This moment, right now, we can decide the outcome of this war between the Jedi and the Sith." The arrogance Kaine seemed to wear like a cloak slipped away as he slowly walked toward Yoda. "We can fight. I will, as I must, do my best. The end result will be both of us destroyed in a spectacular explosion, with nothing left of our knowledge and experience to prepare our people for the war. And the war _will_ happen, Yoda. Rest assured."

Yoda closed his eyes tightly. The Force swirled around him in powerful eddies but no answers came. He could only sense that the Force was telling him that he already knew the answer.

"Or?"

"Or we part ways."

Yoda pulled back, confused. "Part ways?"

Kaine pointed behind to the hangar. "Behind that door are two ships. Both are hyperspace capable, and each is programmed to take us to our respective homes. If you go to your ship, I will go to mine, and we will both escape this deathtrap." As if in answer to a call, the station shook violently. "We will never speak of these events to anyone. A truce. Neither I nor any apprentice in my line for as long as I have the power to stop them will go after the Jedi. In return, you will stay clear of Korun." A new quake erupted, and the Jedi and the Sith grasped the nearby walls for support. "Time is of the essence, Yoda. Shall we die together or part ways?"

"Why agree to this, would I?"

"Because you need to survive, Yoda. You have the knowledge necessary to defeat the Sith. Your skills with a lightsaber are unsurpassed. Who will prepare the Jedi when you are gone?"

"Not enough, this is. Destroy Migruna III you would, if I let you go."

Kaine's brows drew together, and he stared at Yoda in apparent confusion. "Ahh…my station." Kaine glanced around the corridor, suddenly silent. He ran his hand along a bulkhead, his eyes closed. "Very well…I will not rebuild this station. I will never approach Migruna III again, nor mention her to my future apprentice or anyone else. You have my word."

Yoda swallowed. "Why should I trust you?"

Kaine blinked, as if surprised by the question. "Why should I trust _you_?"

Yoda lifted his chin. "I am Jedi."

Kaine laughed. "And I am Sith."

The floor erupted several meters behind Yoda and a fireball crashed through the hallway from below. The corridor darkened briefly before emergency lights provided muted illumination. Powerful gusts of wind escaped down the rupture and pulled hard against Yoda's robe. He grasped the wall more tightly as he struggled to remain in place.

Yoda stared at Kaine, searching his face for some indication of his intent. In the Force, Yoda could sense no deception in the Sith.

Kaine glanced nervously at the rupture as metal screeched and the hole opened wider. "We are now out of time, Yoda!" Kaine had to shout to be heard above the din. "You must decide!"

Yoda swallowed hard but maintained his gaze firmly on Kaine.

There would be no more words between them.

The emerald blade retracted into the hilt.

The Dark Lord nodded in apparent understanding and hastily opened the door.

The two crossed the threshold together, side by side.

The two ships were on either side of the hanger, ready. Yoda moved to his ship, knowing the small cramped vessel was the one programmed for Coruscant.

The explosions rocking the ship grew more insistent, but they barely registered in Yoda's consciousness as he entered the cockpit. He glanced out his viewscreen and watched as the twin-ion engines on Kaine's vessel roared to life.

Yoda sighed.

He energized his own engines, and the two ships exited the hangar, side by side.

Another explosion on the station, and both vessels pitched hard in the sudden inferno that engulfed them. Yoda twisted the yoke hard and spun the ship away from the station. Engaging the thrusters to full, the buffeted station began to shrink away. Yoda looked down at Migruna III, sensing new lives being lost moment by moment as fires continued to burn below.

Stretching out with the Force, he could feel the distortion in the planet. It was being shaken at its very core. The orbit was wrong. It was…_No!_

It was dying!

He had failed.

Yoda searched his scanners for Kaine, unsure what he would do when he found him. Kaine's ship appeared for a moment, before vanishing from all sensors. Yoda tightened his lips.

He clenched his fists tightly. His nails dug into his flesh, and small drops of blood splattered against the cockpit floor. The sight of ships leaving the planet and entering hyperspace did nothing to assuage Yoda's grief.

In all his life, Yoda could never remember having cried.

Tears surged and he tried to bite them back. As he stared out at his dying home, they finally fell.

When Rimasiss died, Yoda had felt his loss profoundly, but he had not wept. The Jedi Master had tried to console Yoda when it was clear that death was upon him. Now, as Yoda remembered the words, they brought no comfort.

"Yoda," Rimassiss had said. "All things die. That is the way of things. The way of the Force. Even stars burn out…."

Yoda wept.


	21. Chapter 14, Genesis

**Chapter 14**

**Genesis  
**

Darth Frigeus leaned back into the plush pilot's chair, his fingers steepled and resting against his lips. He stared out the viewscreen, marveling at the roiling blue-white clouds that swirled about the ship in hyperspace. It occurred to him that he had never truly appreciated the beauty that surrounded the ship, despite his numerous jaunts from one location to another. As he considered it further, he realized that he had hardly ever noticed beauty in anything throughout his life, let alone learned to truly appreciate it.

Migruna III had been beautiful, he decided.

It was an odd thing to notice suddenly, considering the hand he had played in its demise, but there it was. He found he could not shake the feeling of loss he had experienced. What was worse, he seemed particularly preoccupied by the death of the leader of the Tribal Council, Gandol.

Kaine sighed.

Very odd, indeed. Leaning forward, Kaine disengaged the hyperspace engines, relishing the distorting sensation as the ship reverted to real space. Kaine admired the white streaks of light as they resolved into tiny pinpricks within the black curtain of space.

_You should never have made that deal…_

Kaine creased his brow in confusion, trying to grasp where the stray thought had come from. The agreement was necessary. The Sith would survive, and the Jedi would not know of their existence until the Sith chose to reveal themselves. All that he had to give in return was a promise to keep the Sith away from the Jedi as long as he could and to not rebuild his battle station. Those promises were simple enough.

Yoda had not taken the long view. The station had served its purpose. With the designs for the weapon intact and enough cadrinium to build several larger versions on hand, rebuilding the station was no longer a priority. And now was not the time for the Sith to go after the Jedi again.

_But we lost…_

Kaine shook his head.

No.

They had not lost.

They had won in the most unimaginable way. The Sith finally had the key to defeating the Jedi. Corrupt the Jedi from within. The political influences were already in place with the lobbying Kaine had done to ensure that the Jedi were funded—and overseen—by the Republic Senate. Seducing their best and brightest would be next. One or two would work. But more would be better. If enough Jedi were drawn to the dark side of the Force, the cracks in the Jedi Order's armor would finally begin to show.

_But Yoda did not turn…_

No. He _had_ turned. Somehow something had pulled him away, but the fact that he had succumbed to the dark was not in dispute. Yoda had accepted the power the dark side had to offer, forgoing his love of the Jedi for…what? A planet? Love?

No…

_Fear…_

Yes.

Yoda _had_ surrendered to the darkness because he was _afraid_. _That_ was what must be exploited. Fear of loss. The Order's fear of the loss of its Jedi to the dark side would be its undoing.

While the Jedi Order struggled to keep its precious Jedi in the light, the Sith would ensure the birth of the Sith'ari. Somewhere remote, far away from the prying eyes of the Seekers. And when the Sith'ari was ready, the Sith would lay claim to the entire Galaxy.

Kaine smiled.

_Yes…_

Kaine nodded.

Yes.

* * *

The stars continued to shine….

The twin suns continued to burn….

The engines continued to hum….

Migruna III continued to turn.

High above the tiny planet, the damage was impossible to see.

The tears had ebbed hours before. They had dried, untouched, against his leathery skin. Tiny crystals of salt were left in their wake, embedded within the multitudinous wrinkles that marked the centuries of life behind him. The eyes that birthed them were no longer red and swollen. Instead, they peered out at the planet in…acceptance.

Yoda released a breath that he had held far longer than he had realized. An hour earlier, the last of the escape ships had leapt into hyperspace. Absently, he wondered how his people would survive in a galaxy so foreign to them. Would they adapt? Would they grow? Would they seek each other out? Would they band together? Or…would they die? Would he and Yaddle become the last of the migru?

Closing his eyes, Yoda drew in the stale cockpit air in a deep, lingering breath.

He keyed the transmitter.

The conversation was short. She seemed to sense the anguish that had wrapped itself around him. She took the loss of Migruna III far better than he ever would. She did not press for details, seemingly satisfied with the explanation that the super-weapon no longer posed a threat. She did not even question his request to erase the existence of Migruna III from the Jedi Archives. She merely nodded assent and agreed never to speak of the planet again—even to him. Yaddle processed the news in her own way and then…she let it go.

_A better Jedi than I..._ Yoda thought dourly as the transmission ended.

Yoda stared out at the planet a final time. The disruptions in the planet's core were subsiding, but the damage had been done. Already the shift in its orbit was wreaking havoc on Migruna's normally temperate climate. The days would be hotter, and the nights would be cooler. In a century or two, it would be nothing more than a sand-covered abandoned desert landscape in the Outer Rim. Perhaps someday it would be inhabited again by a new species. Maybe one day it would be important to him again.

As it was, he would sooner forget it altogether.

Yoda stared down at the navcomputer and confirmed the coordinates for Coruscant—home. He shook his head. No. The _Jedi_ were his home. Attachments to physical places would only bring heartache and pain. Attachment to people only risks fear of losing them. It was fear, after all, that led him down the dark path.

Fear…

Anger…

Hate….

Suffering.

Abruptly Yoda sat up and briskly ran his hand across his face, dislodging the last remnants of the tears he had shed. Without looking down at the planet, Yoda engaged the sublight engines and angled the ship away from the planet's gravity well.

Once clear, he grasped the yoke and pushed it forward far harder than was necessary. In an instant, the starfield stretched and distorted into long white streaks, and the galaxy erupted into the blue-white swirling clouds of hyperspace.

Yoda leaned back into the hard-backed pilot's chair, his fingers steepled against his lips. He stared out of the viewscreen, unseeing.

Migruna III was gone.

* * *

The proximity alarm shattered Yoda's meditation, and his eyes shot open. Furrowing his brow, Yoda considered the remote possibility that he had somehow lost all track of time and he had been meditating for a lot longer than he realized. A quick check of the chronometer disabused him of that possibility.

Treachery is the way of the Sith.

The familiar scattering of clouds vanished in a sudden flash. Bands of light dissolved into shining points. Yoda immediately consulted the navcomputer, attempting to determine his location. As he engaged the console, the entire system shut down. A moment later, the compartment plunged into darkness, and only the starlight filtering through the transparisteel window provided any illumination.

Yoda drew his lips tight. By the time the ventilation system shut down, Yoda was no longer surprised. Frigeus had made no promises about Yoda's safety. The Sith had only promised that the ship was programmed to take him to his home, which it had been.

As the vessel drifted aimlessly, it occurred to Yoda that the Sith had never actually lied to him. In every case they had told him the truth, though never completely. Rizza had begun to seduce him the moment he had laid eyes on her. She told him the truth at every turn. _That_ had been the power of the seduction. She had warned him about attachments, about letting go. He had never bothered to learn….

The Sith toyed with the truth in order to deceive…

_That_ was the power of the Sith.

Deceit through honesty.

Yoda frowned.

Staring out into space, Yoda breathed deeply and stretched out with the Force. The calming eddies flowed into and through him. Focusing on the path of one tendril, he sensed a planet in the distance. With his eyes firmly closed, Yoda engaged the manual thrusters and fired them in a series of controlled bursts to point the ship toward the location in space where the planet lay.

The cockpit grew cold.

The speed of the ship would not be enough to get him to the planet before he ran out of oxygen or froze to death. Yoda sank deeper into the Force. The ship accelerated.

_Size matters not. Distance matters not,_ he whispered in his mind.

The ship accelerated more.

* * *

Yoda never knew how long he had hurtled toward the planet. By the time the bow of the tiny ship had struck the atmosphere, a trickle of blood had oozed from his nose, and beads of cold sweat had coalesced on his furrowed brow. By the time the gravity well had grasped the ship in its powerful grip and pulled it downward, exhaustion and oxygen depravation had overtaken him, and he had lost consciousness.

He had not felt the heat of the atmosphere as it burned away the outer hull.

He had noticed the uncontrolled spin of the ship.

He never felt the automatic crash net that saved his life wrap around him an instant before the vessel struck the water.

He never heard the strain of metal as the main ramp was torn away.

He did not see the light break through the opening and kiss his worn face.

He did not feel the powerful hairy hands pull him free of the wreckage moments before it sank deep into the murky depths of the lake.

When he awoke, he was on Migruna III again. No…the homes were similar, to be sure. He was on the balcony of one of them. The houses were built into massive trees, and vines hung from branches that stretched from one tree to the next in a complex interlocking pattern. No, not Migruna.

Yoda sighed.

As he struggled to sit up, immense hands possessed of astounding strength grasped his shoulders and pushed him back onto the cot. The creature barking at him was gargantuan—as massive as Yoda was small. Yoda searched his extensive memories, and the recollection of the creatures surfaced.

"Kashyyyk…?" Yoda's voice cracked. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was drier than his throat. The creature tending to him seemed to recognize this as he handed Yoda a gourd filled with water. As Yoda stared at proffered drink, the gourd's resemblance to a bending tree nut caused a lump to form in his throat. Yoda pushed the thought aside and drank the water.

The creature barked loudly what Yoda could only assume were commands, given that a smaller creature emerged from a ladder leading up to the deck. Wookiees, Yoda remembered. They were Wookiees. He tried to remember how to interpret their utterings as the smaller one exchanged excited barks with the larger one, who Yoda assumed was the father.

At length they turned their attention back to him.

The father barked something about the child being responsible for Yoda.

"A ship, I need." Yoda said. "Return to Coruscant, I must."

The Wookiees clearly understood him, because the father entered into a series of grunts and roars that Yoda needed no memory to interpret. Yoda nodded. Apparently, he owed a life-debt to the child, as the young Wookiee had seen his ship falling and had called the adults to save him.

"Repay the debt, I will." Yoda struggled to sit up. As the father reached to push him back again, Yoda waved him off. "But return to Coruscant, I must."

The father roared again.

The words were beginning to take form in Yoda's mind. "Understand this, I do. Your son…Tarfful…under Jedi protection, he will be, for as long as I live."

Tarfful roared.

As Yoda tried to scoot off the cot, pain exploded behind his eyes. Yoda glared at his knee, and bit back the sudden rage that erupted. Closing his eyes, Yoda breathed in the calming energies of the Force.

"Stay with you, I will, until I am well," Yoda whispered at last. The two Wookiees grunted in unison, and Yoda forced a weak smile. Searching about the stark room, he spied a discarded gnarled twist of wood in a far corner. A flick of the Force, and the stick flew to his hand. Using the wood as a makeshift cane, Yoda slid off the cot. He turned to look up at Tarfful, who stood more than twice Yoda's height. "Show me around, you should."

The younger Wookiee bared his teeth in what Yoda assumed was a grin. The father nodded in clear approval and stalked out of the room.

Tarfful stared down at Yoda for a protracted moment. Yoda understood the youngling's concern. Yoda would not be able to keep up with Tarfful in his current state. Yoda shrugged. Abruptly Tarfful extended two hair-covered paws and effortlessly hoisted Yoda onto his shoulders. Yoda started to protest by nudging the boy excitedly with the stick, but Tarfful simply grabbed it with a massive paw and began stalking out of the tree-house.

Resigned, Yoda relaxed.

Tarfful barked something that Yoda did not quite grasp, but when the Wookiee took hold of a vine and used it to swing to another tree, Yoda understood it had been a warning to hold on.

As they sailed through the foliage, the fresh smell of the green trees filled the air. Wookiees could be seen in every direction. Working, playing, being together. They were a community—a family.

They were alive.

Yoda smiled.


	22. Chapter 15, Renovation

**Chapter 15**

**Renovation**

The durasteel doors to the Jedi Council chambers were shut. Yoda stood before them with his hands clasped, resting atop his gimer stick, his eyes closed, and his face impassive. He stared at the durasteel doors, waiting. His rock-still position hid the turmoil within. Yoda contemplated the last time he had visited the chamber.

He recalled the disdain he had felt for the Jedi Council. He remembered how he had despised what he had thought of as their elitism. He summoned the disgust he felt for how they were nothing more than a midi-chlorian club.

He had thought them sycophants.

He had thought them weak.

He had been wrong.

Yoda bowed his head and stared at the backs of his hands where they rested atop the twist of wood. At some unknown point in his life, his once-pristine skin had become spotted with darkened blotches. Veins now bulged from his wrist and ran like tributaries, branching along the green landscape. Wispy strands of hair that had once been a lustrous silver now had faded to a dull gray.

Yoda frowned.

He had grown old. How had he not noticed until now? With his age, the Council had seen experience. They had coveted his accumulated knowledge, but he had been too wrapped up in his own concerns to see it. The Council had not wanted him because he had the highest midi-chlorian count on record. They had wanted him because he was ancient. They had wanted him because they had thought him wise.

Yoda nodded.

_Wise, I was not,_ Yoda considered. _Great knowledge, I had, but no experience. Knowledge, without experience, a great waste, it is. A marriage, wisdom is, of knowledge and experience._

Yoda raised his head and stared at the ornate designs on the cold metal doors. Distant sunlight glinted off them into his half-lidded eyes. Migruna III's twin suns had sparkled off the discarded Iktotchi's weapon as well.

Yoda sighed.

Closing his eyes, Yoda breathed in the energies of the Force, and the whispers of the dark side that nipped at the edges of his consciousness dissipated.

_Inform the future, the past should,_ Yoda considered, _not dictate it._

Sinking further into the placid waters of the Force, the ethereal form of Qui-Lek seemed to materialize in a distant haze of blue-white light. Yoda knitted his brow in concentration, trying to resolve the insubstantial image, but the impression vanished. Yoda could not be sure, but it seemed as though the Jedi Master had…smiled.

Yoda contemplated the vision and the Jedi Masters who waited behind the two massive slabs of metal. They were not prepared for what awaited them. Perhaps his encounter with the Sith had been the will of the Force. Maybe the Force was telling him that he should use his new-found wisdom to make the Jedi stronger. Bound by his agreement with the Dark Lord, Yoda could not talk about his experience. Nothing, however, precluded him from imparting the lessons he had learned. Yoda tightened his lips into a thin line.

The doors suddenly unlocked, and Yoda opened his eyes. He made his face an inscrutable mask and hobbled into the room.

He would lead them.

* * *

Master Secura's right lekku twitched involuntarily. Yoda's report had been clear, concise, and…incomplete. Surveying the gathered Masters in the Council chamber, she sensed their unease as disquieting tremors in the Force.

The only visible eye on Master Redous's reptilian head from her vantage point blinked incessantly. Tulook tapped his pale fingers against the side of his chair. Ji-Aba-Zin tilted his long conical head to one side but said nothing.

Elyana's gaze settled on Qui-Lek's conspicuously empty seat.

As expected, it was Fanzeh who finally broke the silence with a snort. "What happened to this darksider who took Qui-Lek's life?" The Klantooinian's tone was harsh. The lips of his split upper jowls flapped as he snorted again.

Yoda's expression was inscrutable. That was abnormal, in and of itself, given that Yoda had never hid his disdain for Fanzeh and normally took every opportunity to confront the unbending Jedi Master. Instead, the once-proud Yoda closed his eyes and drew a long, silent breath.

"Gone, the user of the dark side is," Yoda said at last. Elyana threw a glance toward Fanzeh, but the Jedi Master's attention was focused entirely on Yoda.

"Gone? Gone as in dead? Gone as in escaped? Why are you being so evasive, Yoda?" Fanzeh leaned forward in his seat. "How is it that you have closed yourself off so completely in the Force?"

Yoda turned slightly, squaring himself on Fanzeh. Elyana realized suddenly that she was gripping the sides of her chair so tightly that her lavender skin had turned pale-white along her knuckles. Yoda fixed Fanzeh with a hard stare. Elyana held her breath.

Seconds passed in silence as Yoda held the gaze, unwavering.

At length, Yoda lowered his head.

The Force suddenly exploded in a deluge of emotion with Yoda at its source. Driven back into her chair, Elyana swallowed hard against the dizzying sensation assaulting her senses. Pushing hard against the curved sides of her chair, Elyana pulled herself up and focused her gaze on the tiny creature who stood solemnly at the center of the chamber. Yoda leaned heavily against his makeshift cane, eyes closed, his face somber. Haphazard images flashed in and out of her consciousness.

Qui-Lek lay on a forest floor, impaled through the chest by a crimson particle blade…

A small migru child, a source of light…

A torrent of green energy enveloped a tiny blue-green orb…

The impressions came in a flood without meaning, and Elyana struggled to make sense of it all. But the emotional onslaught did not let up. Grief and guilt poured from Yoda in seemingly unending waves. Unbidden tears rushed to Elyana's eyes and poured down her face.

"Yoda…" Elyana could barely hear her own voice. "Please…"

A sharp surge in the Force, and the gush of sensations ceased. The Jedi Masters all stumbled forward, and Elyana swallowed back the nausea that threatened to erupt from her throat.

Silence.

As Elyana slowly recovered, she scrutinized the other Jedi Masters. They all seemed deeply moved in the same way she had been—even Fanzeh's face had softened. They began glancing around the room, clearly unsure of how to proceed. With each passing moment, the images faded from Elyana's mind like the diminishing light that accompanied the nightly shutdown of Coruscant's orbital mirrors. Once again, it was Fanzeh who broke the calm.

"Yoda…" Fanzeh's tone was much softer than before. "What…happened?"

Yoda let out a slow breath, as if he had been holding it for a long time. It was still several more moments before he finally opened his eyes. They were red and slightly swollen with unshed tears.

"Suffered much, I have, on this mission," Yoda replied. "Faced and defeated the dark side, I have. A great loss—" Yoda's voice broke. He paused for a moment and lowered his head again. He swallowed silently before looking back up at Fanzeh. "Give you details, I cannot." With apparent great difficulty, Yoda turned about the room to look at each Jedi Master as he spoke. "Swear to you, I do, that no more danger this dark one poses for now. Learned much, I have. Stay here with the Council, I will. If you accept me, lead you, I will."

Fanzeh's bushy eye-brows lifted high onto his forehead. "You would lead the Council at last?" he asked incredulously. "You have never been interested in even being on the Council, let alone leading it. We've been after you to assume this position for decades!" He leaned forward, his eyebrows drawn together and his jagged lower teeth bared. "What changed?"

Pulling the corners of his mouth down farther than Elyana had ever seen before, Yoda looked down to where his stick met the brilliantly polished stone floor. He picked up the wood and tapped it lightly against the stone. Lucidity settled on Elyana for the first time. She had not been sure until that moment, but it was now clear to her that Yoda had sunk lower than he ever had. The grief and sorrow that had washed over them moments before was only a hint at the agony he was now enduring. He was grasping. He needed the Jedi; he needed….

"Master Fanzeh," Elyana said, he voice firm and clear. "We are Master Yoda's…" she glanced at Yoda, "…family." She smiled. Turning back to Fanzeh, she drew her eyebrows together, and pulled her lips into thin line. "He has spared us the brunt of the torture he suffers even now. He deserves our compassion, not our distrust."

"Agreed," Redous interjected. "Whatever Yoda suffered, he has clearly returned to us."

The other Jedi Masters nodded assent. Fanzeh glanced about the room. His lower jaw dropped. "He has given us more questions than answers!" Fanzeh roared. "Don't you all see that? How can we let him lead this Council if he cannot—no!—_will_ not tell us what we need to know!"

"Seek answers, a Jedi need not," Yoda whispered. The entire Council returned their attention to him. He picked up his gimer stick and began to hobble across the room. "Understand the question, we must." Yoda stopped directly in front of Fanzeh. His voice was soft, sad. "Answers, too concerned with outcomes, they are. It is the _path_ that matters. The path we Jedi walk, difficult it is. More difficult still, it needs to be. Unprepared, we are, to face the darkness." Yoda's grip on the gimer stick tightened.

"But…" Fanzeh began to protest when Yoda placed his hand on his fellow Jedi Master's knee.

"Search your feelings, Fanzeh." Yoda whispered. "Trust your feelings, you must."

Fanzeh frowned briefly, and then closed his eyes. Almost immediately, the entire Council followed suit. Yoda removed his hand from Fanzeh's knee and leaned heavily once again on his gimer stick. He turned his head toward Elyana and stared at her quietly. A weak smile crossed his lips and he nodded reassuringly. Then he closed his eyes, joining his fellow Jedi Masters.

Elyana continued to gaze at Yoda for several breaths before she finally linked with the others in silent communion with the Force.

* * *

"I thought I might find you here."

The gentle trickling of water filled the entire chamber. Yoda was perched atop the large boulder that sat near the edge of the artificial pond, his legs dangling over the water. His gimer stick lay next to him. Elyana crossed the distance between them cautiously, and stopped a respectful two meters away.

Any hope that Yoda's presence in the Room of a Thousand Fountains would have somehow disrupted his melancholy state vanished when she saw him. Yoda stared blankly at the placid water, seemingly oblivious to her presence. The artificial waterfall seemed to have his undivided attention. Elyana held her breath, waiting. It had been his way when she was a padawan, to make her linger in his presence for extended periods of time in absolute silence. Inevitably, he would break the stillness with some Jedi teaching or another.

The silence extended…

After an hour, Elyana decided to attempt a different approach. She reached down to her belt and unfastened it. She slid out of her robes, folded them neatly and placed them on the duracrete boundary of the pool. Yoda raised his head and looked up at her mostly naked form, arching his right eyebrow. She cast him a sidelong glance, smiling, and then stepped into the water. The pool rose to just above her knee. When Yoda went back to staring at the waterfall, Elyana slid to the pool floor and lay back in the water.

"Care to join me for a swim?" Elyana grinned.

Yoda sighed.

"_Enough!_" Elyana's sudden shout surprised even her. Yoda looked up in apparent confusion. Water cascaded off her body as she quickly rose and plodded through the water to stand directly in front of her former Master. She placed her hands akimbo and waited.

Yoda stared at her, his mouth slack and his eyes wide. Clearly he had not expected a frontal assault. Elyana smiled inwardly.

"What do you want?" Yoda finally whispered.

"I want you to start acting like yourself, Yoda!" Elyana decided she preferred this assertive approach. "You're the head of the Jedi Order now—Force only knows why!—and you have a responsibility to the liv—" She caught herself a moment too late. Yoda's eyes misted. She frowned and chose to barrel onward. "Yes, Yoda! To the living! I realize you won't tell me precisely what happened but we both know that I, better than anyone else on the Council, _know_."

Of course, she was referring to her species' ability to store memories in their lekku and retrieve them at a later time. She had sifted through the images that Yoda had given them over and over again. She wasn't sure exactly what they all meant, but she knew that Yoda had a reason for the guilt he felt that extended beyond an inability to save Qui-Lek.

"Time alone, I need," Yoda whispered simply.

Elyana softened. She reached up to touch Yoda's face but the Jedi Master jerked away, a look of anguish and…fear?...in his eyes. "Yoda…" Elyana ventured. "You may have a thousand lifetimes to work through this, but the rest of us don't." The corners of Yoda's mouth turned downward. She pushed on. "Please…come back to us."

"I am here," Yoda replied.

"No, you're not."

Yoda stared blankly.

Driven by a sudden impulse, Elyana turned and stretched out her palms over the water. Two small pebbles leapt to her hand—one from the calm bottom of the fountain, and the other from within the waterfall. She turned and placed them both in Yoda's hand. Yoda stared down at the two pebbles—one coarse and rough, the other smooth.

Yoda nodded.

Elyana stepped out of the pool and slid her robes back on. He would snap out of this, she was sure. He simply had to. She heard an odd shift in the normal trickle of the water into the pool behind her. Confused, she spun around and came to a stunned halt.

She glanced down at the unexpectedly empty pool, a sinking feeling settling in her gut. She turned to Yoda, who now sported a disturbingly mischievous glint in his eyes. Hesitantly, Elyana looked up above her head, and her mouth fell open.

The entire contents of the pool hung in the air two meters above, contained in an invisible bowl.

"You wouldn't!"

Yoda grinned.

A moment later, Elyana was drenched and water gushed onto the floor, pooling around her ankles. Her clogged ears didn't drown out the welcome sound that emanated from her friend.

It started low, like the rumble of a distant cloud…

It grew louder and more insistent by the second…

In spite of herself, Elyana grinned and sighed inwardly with relief.

For the first time in the three months since his return, Yoda laughed.


	23. Epilogue 1, Suffer the Children

**_Author's note: Thank you all for joining me on this journey about Yoda's descent into the dark. There are 5 more posts left in total. They are all epilogues but are sort of chapters in their own right. They connect directly to the title of Part III--Destiny. They rocket you through time from the last chapter to a familiar place most of you might be familiar with--the beginning of Fall of the Sith. I've labled them Epilogues 1-5 but each has its own title. I hope you don't find that too confusing. I hope you enjoy. And now, the first of the epilogues..._**

_**Epilogue…**_

**Suffer the Children  
**

"Yes, yes. Feel the Force!" Yoda whispered into his padawan's ear as he clutched tightly to the boy's sinewy shoulders. The young man took a hard turn to the right before leaping thirty meters into the air and landing fleet-footed on a two-meter-wide stanchion in the training room. The teenager's breathing was heavy and labored. He was slowing down. Yoda dug his nails deep into the padawan's shoulder.

"Ow!" the boy yelled.

Yoda pushed himself off his apprentice's shoulder and flipped over the young man's head. Yoda had already pulled his weapon to his hand, activated it, and was twisting the blade in the hapless student's direction before he landed. When Yoda swung the blade toward his pupil's head with a new leap, the boy managed to duck at the last second and rolled to the other side of the platform.

When the learner stood again, his azure blade was out and ready, angled down to the right in preparation for another attack. Yoda pushed off the metal grate. The boy moved his blade to his left.

The student's eyes widened, his mouth open. Yoda landed on the wall to the boy's left, and the Jedi Master began to run along the bulkhead, his blade a green blur. A twist of his body to the right in a tight circle kept the apprentice's head attached. A flick of his lightsaber in a smooth arc deflected Yoda's assault and forced him off the wall.

The Jedi Master gave no indication that the boy had accomplished anything remarkable. Instead, he deactivated his weapon and pushed off the stanchion with his hands, hurtling toward the startled boy, feet first.

Taken aback, the teen angled his blade vertically and brought it in close in obvious desperation. The Jedi Master pulled the weapon free with the Force. As the boy watched his weapon freefall over the railing, the Jedi Master's feet pounded into his chest. The boy landed hard.

Yoda stood atop his padawan's chest, his face impassive. "Better, that was, Dooku." The Jedi Master frowned. "But remain focused, you must, even when tired."

Dooku nodded blankly. Blood rushed to his already flushed face. Blinking a bead of sweat out of his eye, he glared at his Master. Yoda raised his right eyebrow, and then the corner of his mouth turned upward in a lopsided smile.

The apprentice's lips contorted into an instant snarl, and he pushed hard.

Yoda's eyes went wide as he sailed over the railing and fell toward the marble floor below. Whatever surprise the Jedi Master had experienced was instantly put aside as Yoda righted himself, extended his hands to either side, and called on the Force to slow his fall. As he landed, his discarded gimer stick flew to his hand.

Dooku landed two meters behind Yoda, his recovered weapon high above his head as he charged in, his teeth gritted and bared.

Yoda raised a hand.

The boy screeched to a halt, crashing hard into an invisible wall.

Yoda balled his raised hand into a fist.

The weapon deactivated in Dooku's hand, and then crumpled around its crystal. The student stepped back cautiously from the dismantled weapon as the fuel cell, and then the crushed hilt, fell to the floor with a dull metallic thud. The dismantled chrome hilt, now nothing more than a distorted metal globe, rolled unevenly about on the floor before stopping at Dooku's feet. The discarded fuel cell glistened in its pristine state a meter away.

Yoda turned.

Dooku bowed his head, but kept his eyes on the Jedi Master. "My apologies, Master Yoda. I forgot myself for a moment."

Yoda's face was stern, a marked look of concern embedded on his wrinkled face. "Indeed," he replied. The Jedi Master hobbled slowly toward his pupil. The sound of his gimer stick pounding the floor with each step echoed loudly in the large empty chamber. "With anger, you attacked."

Dooku nodded. "Yes, Master."

"Great care, you must take." Yoda stopped directly in front of his apprentice and stared intently into the boy's eyes. "Anger, fear, aggression—of the dark side are they."

"I know, Master."

"Embarrassed, you are, and well you should be!" Yoda poked Dooku in the shin with the tip of his stick and smiled. "Lose his lightsaber, a Jedi should not!"

Dooku's shoulders loosened visibly, and the apprentice mirrored his Master's smile. "Well—" Dooku grinned as he toed his decimated lightsaber hilt—"I'll keep that in mind when I replace this one." Yoda chuckled. Dooku raised an appreciative brow as he continued to gaze at his weapon. "I didn't think anybody could do that with the Force, Master Yoda."

Yoda's smile faded a little. He glanced down to where Dooku kicked at the small metal ball. A flick of the Force brought the ball to Yoda's hand. He stared at it for a long moment, and then tossed it high in the air, smiling. Dooku reached out and caught it.

"Much to learn, you still have, Padawan!" Yoda announced and turned toward the door. "Come! Time for dinner, it is."

Yoda started to hobble to the exit but stopped after a few steps. Knitting his brow, he turned again and glanced at his apprentice.

The boy shuffled his feet awkwardly.

Yoda rested both his hands on each other atop his gimer stick. "A question, you have?"

Dooku ran a hand through his jet-black hair and gripped the back of his neck. He glanced back and forth from the deactivated fuel cell on the floor to the corrugated metal sphere in his hand. Closing his eyes, he closed his fist around the ball.

At length, he opened his eyes and fixed his stare on Yoda, his face an inscrutable mask. "I will never have the power to do that, will I?"

Yoda screwed up his face briefly. Then he let out a loud breath. "In time, Padawan. Patience. Strong you are in the Force. Focus and training, you need, to realize your full potential."

Dooku straightened. "But I will never realize my _full_ potential, will I?"

Yoda lifted his chin and pursed his lips. His eyes lost focus, and he gazed out through lidded eyes. Finally he focused his stare on his young padawan. His ears drooped low. "Dangerous, this line of questioning is, Dooku," Yoda replied. He raised a hand and pointed one of his gnarled fingers at his Padawan. "To the dark side, it will take you."

"Do you realize how often you warn me about the dark side, Master?" Dooku paused for moment and swallowed. When he spoke again, his tone grew harsh. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Yoda stared quietly at the backs of his hands. He picked up his gimer stick and drew a small, invisible circle on the floor. "Tell you what you need, I do."

Dooku crossed the distance between them, his arms extended. "But why only me?" he pleaded. "Ever since I was in the crèche you've hounded me about the dark side. It makes me feel…it makes me feel…."

Yoda looked up. "Feel how?"

"…like you sense something about me." Dooku squatted so that he was at eye level with his Master. "I wonder if you have seen something in my future…that I will turn to the dark side…or...something."

Yoda sighed and looked away. "Clouded, your future is. Impossible to see." The boy's head dropped. Yoda quickly caught his padawan's chin and lifted it. "Prepared, you will be, to face your uncertain future."

"Is…is that why you encouraged me to learn the Makashi style of lightsaber combat? I'm the only padawan practicing it."

"Suited to you, Form Two lightsaber training is." Yoda patted Dooku on the shoulder. "More natural, is your skill, than the other padawans. Worry, you should not, about being different. Unique, every Jedi is." He paused as Dooku smiled weakly. Yoda's voice was more insistent. "And a great Jedi, you will be."

Dooku stood. "Powerful?"

Yoda nodded. "Now come. Hungry, I am."

* * *

"Thank you so much for coming down on such short notice, Master Yoda. It's always a special treat to have you stop by!"

Yoda raised his right eyebrow as he maneuvered his hover chair through the open doorway and toward the lithe Umbaran. The tall humanoid Jedi Seeker's pallid eyes sparkled in the low light of the crèche.

Yoda nodded curtly. "The reason for your urgent summons, tell me, Master Syndaar."

Syndaar pulled his head back, a look of astonishment on his face. He blinked several times, and then smiled before responding. "Ahhh…yes, Master Yoda. Please forgive me. Sometimes in my own little world here, I forget how little time other Jedi have for pleasantries." He turned around and began entering a code for the nursery door. "There was a period when all I had was time on my hands. Alas, these new mandates for larger youngling classes have kept me quite busy down here. I've even had to go out on assignment myself for the last three batches."

Yoda spun his chair on the Jedi Master. "Younglings, they are! Not equipment! Refer to them in that way, you should not!"

The Seeker's mouth dropped open and hung agape for several moments. Yoda maintained his intense stare, determined that the Seeker should correct himself. "Yes…of course, Master Yoda. My apologies." The Umbaran bowed, then finished entering the code. "The newest of our younglings is why I called you, sir."

"Hmmm…?"

The doors swished apart, and Yoda had to lower his ears to dampen the sudden onrush of noise emanating from the new chamber. Yoda's eyes widened as he took in the room. Nearly one hundred younglings from all over the galaxy lay in their plasteel cradles, screaming and wailing in the various forms peculiar to their species.

"I apologize for the commotion," Syndaar yelled above the din, "but they have been undergoing their anti-attachment training, and many of the older children are having a hard time adapting."

Yoda's eyes narrowed. "I see…."

Syndaar seemed to take Yoda's reaction personally, as he dropped his eyes and bowed. Yoda forced a reassuring smile and kicked his floating chair into motion to survey the room. Fourteen other Seekers scurried about from one crib to another, taking notes on their data pads, likely to document the progress of the various children.

Yoda sighed.

As he began to turn his hover chair toward Syndaar to ask again about the purpose of his call, something caught his attention.

Unsure of what he had observed, Yoda floated over to a single crib set apart slightly from the rest. Lying in the bed was a single dark-skinned human boy. The boy was clearly older than the others—perhaps eleven standard months in age. And unlike the other younglings, this child was silent as he stared calmly at the ceiling. Yoda turned his gaze upward in an attempt to see what the boy found so fascinating. Perhaps it was the ornate decorative arches that ran along the curved roof. Yoda pursed his lips and once again looked at the child.

Abruptly, the boy turned his head and looked at Yoda. The two gazed at each other for a long moment. Opening his perceptions in the Force, Yoda was astonished by the brilliant radiance in the Force the youngling possessed.

"I found him myself!" Yoda startled at Syndaar's sudden presence. He shot Syndaar a sidelong glance. "He's the reason I called you down, Sir."

"Adjusting well, he seems to be," Yoda replied.

"Yes…well…." Syndaar looked uncomfortable. "If you would step away for a moment, please?" Syndaar turned away and walked into a small adjoining room. Curious, Yoda followed. The anteroom was a small observation booth with a clear view of the child's bed.

"What are we doing?" Yoda asked in a hushed tone, though he was not sure why he was whispering.

"Wait one more moment, Master Yoda."

Yoda sighed and turned his attention to the baby. Within seconds, a tiny silvery rattle floated from a stand where they were stored and into the baby's crib. Yoda turned to Syndaar in confusion.

"He does this every time he thinks we're not watching," Syndaar said excitedly. "Whenever we take it away, he gives it up willingly and without a fuss. But as soon as our backs are turned, he retrieves it with ease. Astounding, don't you think?"

Yoda let out a breath. "Indeed." He returned his gaze to the child. "How long has he been here?"

"We only brought him here yesterday. He has the highest midi-chlorian count on record apart from yours."

"Is that so?" Yoda asked absently, his attention focused on the boy.

"Oh, yes!" Syndaar continued animatedly. "His people were somewhat reluctant to part with him, sadly. It took some…persuading."

Yoda turned his head at that. The Umbaran grinned sheepishly and shrugged. The Jedi Council had often turned a blind eye to Syndaar's tactic of using his people's skill at subtle manipulation in his quest to convince parents to give up their children to the Order. Yoda was the lone dissenting voice to this practice, convinced that it would eventually lead people to distrust the Jedi. So far, he had been proven wrong. The Jedi were the most respected institution in the galaxy.

"From where, did he come?" Yoda whispered, continuing to watch the boy as one of the Seekers rushed to the boy's side and took the rattle away.

"That's an interesting tale, in and of itself actually," Syndaar replied. "The planet has an unusually dense concentration of Force-adepts, though none of them are trained. Perhaps you've heard of it? Haruun Kal?"

Yoda spun instantly. "Haruun Kal, you say? Certain, you are?"

Syndaar stepped back with a look of astonishment. "Well…yes, Master, quite sure." Syndaar knitted his brows. "Do you…know the Korun?"

Yoda glanced back at the boy and swallowed. "The youngling's parents, met them, you did?"

Syndaar glimpsed in the direction Yoda was looking. "The mother, yes," he replied tentatively. "She was quite anxious to have us take him, actually. It was their chieftain who put up the most resistance."

Yoda returned his attention to Syndaar. "Their chieftain?"

"Yes. They have a tribal system of government, centered on a fairly powerful Force-adept who acts as a healer. He claimed that the child was from a long line of healers and could not leave the planet."

Yoda frowned. "His name?"

"The boy?" Syndaar asked. "His name is Mace Windu."

"The chieftain. What was his name?" Yoda pressed, his throat tight.

"I'm not sure, actually. His people called him Ka'heen, though I believe that was his title."

"Ka'heen…?" Yoda whispered, as much to himself as in response to Syndaar. Yoda stared out the observation window and watched as a new rattle arose and settled into the bed. "Kaine…" He could barely hear his own voice above the pounding in his chest. Closing his eyes, Yoda breathed deeply, searching the Force. When he opened his eyes again, he was calm, his mind clear.

"Begin these younglings' training, I will," Yoda announced. "Focus their training, I can."

Syndaar's eyes widened. "Of…of…course, Master Yoda." The Seeker placed his hands behind his back and lifted his chin. "When would you like to begin?"

Yoda maneuvered his chair out of the anteroom. Syndaar had to scurry to catch up. "Bring Mace to my chambers this evening. Conduct his anti-attachment training myself, I shall."

"Yes, Master Yoda."

"To train the others, a new schedule, we will need. Discuss this with the Council, I will."

"Understood."

When the doors slid shut behind him, Yoda stopped and stared down the long sunlit corridor, deep in thought. He did not move again until long after the dim passageway lighting provided the only source of illumination.


	24. Epilogue 2, Allies and Obstacles

_**Epilogue…**_

**Allies and Obstacles…  
**

The impromptu crowd of padawans and Jedi parted to make way for Yoda and his opponent amid resounding cheers and applause. Yoda responded to the throng's approval with a slight nod and a smile as he and Mace Windu passed through the makeshift passageway they had provided.

When they entered the small meditation chamber attached to the training room, Yoda climbed up onto one of the long wooden benches, moving his gimer stick aside before settling into a comfortable seated position. Pulling his feet under him, Yoda leaned back against the cool duracrete wall and smiled.

"Most impressive, your display of lightsaber skills was," Yoda announced as he watched Mace use the Force to pull a bottle of water from the other side of the domed chamber to his waiting hand. Mace grabbed his towel from where it rested on the seat next to Yoda and wiped his sweat-drenched brow and neck.

Mace smiled and tilted his head in a clear acknowledgement of the compliment. With an exaggerated display of exhaustion, Mace dropped into the seat next to Yoda.

"How is it that no matter how hard we spar, you never seem to break a sweat?"

Yoda laughed at that. "When nearly eight hundred years old you reach, long ago shriveled up will your sweat glands be, too!"

Mace chuckled. "I almost had you near the end."

"Almost," Yoda replied, his smile widening. "Heh! As useful, that observation is, as giving credit for 'almost' landing a ship!"

Mace leaned forward, placing his elbows one his knees, and laughed. "Good point."

Yoda leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

A tranquil silence filled the room.

"Yoda?"

"Hmmm?"

"You weren't taking it easy on me, were you?"

Yoda opened an eye and looked at Mace. The newly promoted Jedi Master seemed to be trying to hide his clear unease at having asked the question. For a moment, Yoda considered dismissing the inquiry out of hand, but he sensed that the answer was important to Mace.

"Concerned, are you, that I was?"

Mace's nod was barely perceptible.

Yoda opened his other eye, sat up, and smiled. "Gave our sparring match my all, I did."

Mace pursed his lips and twisted his mouth. After a few long moments, he settled his gaze on Yoda. Mace smiled. "I don't think so."

Yoda raised his right eyebrow. "No?"

Mace shook his head, his smile widening. "No."

Yoda bent his head but said nothing.

Mace obviously understood the silent gesture. After a meaningful sidelong glance in Yoda's direction, he tilted the bottle of water to his lips and took several thirsty gulps. Setting the bottle down on the bench, he turned to face Yoda and draped the towel around his neck. He grasped his right ankle and pulled it under him.

"Yoda, it's just you and me here, right now," Mace began, his eyes boring intently. "I could _feel_ you holding back."

Yoda held the gaze, but drew the corners of his mouth tight. Yoda swallowed. "More to say, you have." It was not a question.

Mace glanced at the bench.

"I tried to find your shatterpoint…."

Yoda frowned. He was intimately familiar with Mace's special gift, having spent years working with him to learn how to interpret the visions the Force provided. Mace's ability to see the weakest point in anyone or anything had long been a topic of animated discussion among the members of the Council. That, and his undeniable power in the Force, would likely result in his appointment to the Council earlier than anyone in Jedi history.

But Mace's ability to see shatterpoints had a way of making those around him uncomfortable. Just about every padawan and more than a few Jedi Knights had reported feeling that every time Master Windu glanced at them, he was secretly scrutinizing their faults. Perhaps it was the fact that Yoda never seemed concerned about Mace's gift that Mace seemed to seek him out more than any other Jedi. Admitting to searching for Yoda's shatterpoint, especially in a quest to win a friendly sparring match, was likely twisting Mace's insides with apprehension.

Yoda smiled. "A useful tool, that is. Use it, I would, if available to me, it was."

Mace visibly relaxed as he let out a breath. He nodded silently, as if to thank Yoda. At length, he spoke again. "I couldn't interpret it, though." He ran his thumb along the smooth wood surface of the bench. "I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on what I saw."

Yoda took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall. In all his years, he had never felt closer to any Jedi than he did to Mace. Theirs was as real a friendship as Yoda had ever encountered. If anyone could handle the truth of his experiences, Mace could.

No.

Trying to anticipate Mace's insights served no purpose, and planning a response was equally pointless.

_There is no emotion; there is peace…_ Yoda closed his eyes and breathed in the Force as he recited the mantra in his mind.

Yoda crossed his arms across his chest. "Your observations, share."

Mace responded with a curt bow of his head. "On the few occasions that I've looked for shatterpoints in other Jedi, their major fault lines are always connected to the Order."

Yoda nodded. "Expected, that would be. For the Jedi, deeply connected to the Order, we are. Know what to do without it, most would not."

"Yes, I can see that." Mace looked away to the far side of the chamber. "There are, of course, some Jedi who have a much looser connection to the Order, if at all…Qui-Gon Jinn, for example."

Yoda raised his right eyebrow. Convinced that no response was required, Yoda chose to remain silent.

"But you…." Mace breathed out and returned his gaze to Yoda. "You were so blinding in the Force, I couldn't see any fault lines…." Mace looked at the floor.

Yoda waited.

When Mace said nothing more, Yoda decided it best to press him. "Unlike you, it is, to be so unsure of yourself, Mace. What else, did you see?"

"That's just it, Yoda!" Mace exclaimed, his tone more frustrated than Yoda had ever heard. "I'm not sure _what_ I saw!" He screwed up his face, as if searching for the right words. "Deep beneath the layers and layers of light, I saw…a…blemish. It was barely there. A dark spot…no…a…void. I don't know what it was, but I know that it was your shatterpoint."

Yoda swallowed.

"Do you have any idea what that void might be?"

Yoda stared at the spots on the back of his hands. They seemed to be multiplying in number every year.

"Yoda?"

Startled, Yoda looked up at Mace. He stared at his friend's expectant face, one filled with clear respect and admiration. Yoda sighed. "Reside deep in all of us, some darkness always lives. Possible, it is, that this is what you saw." Yoda picked up his gimer stick and poked Mace gently in the ribs, smiling. "Or floated in your eye, a speck of dust did! Know for sure, I do not!"

Mace leaned back against the wall and chuckled, seemingly relieved. "Perhaps you're right. It's probably nothing."

Yoda nodded and placed the end of his gimer stick on the floor. He scooted off the bench and started to hobble to the door.

"Where are you going, Master?"

Yoda turned and looked at Mace over his shoulder. "Work as well as my ears, my nose does not but…" Yoda sniffed the air. "…tell, even I can, that need a trip to the 'fresher, we both need!"

He hobbled out of the chamber to the sound of Mace's clearly amused laughter.

* * *

"Master? May I have a word?"

Yoda beamed. "Dooku! Returned from your mission early, you have! Good to see you, it is." Yoda extended his gimer stick to his former padawan. "Come in, please."

Dooku slid from the doorway and sat across from Yoda inside the spare quarters. He threw a fleeting look at the fading sunlight as it drew shadows on the floor through the blinds.

Yoda looked down at the same spot on the floor, waiting. Dooku had long been a man of few words, and only spoke after careful consideration. It was likely that Dooku had been standing outside Yoda's door for some time before actually requesting permission to enter. Whatever it was that Dooku wanted, it was important to him. He would consider seeking an unscheduled audience with Yoda under other circumstances…rude.

Finally, Dooku looked up. "I managed to observe your sparring match with Master Windu earlier." The melodic baritone in his voice, while conversational, carried a tinge of…reproach?

"Approve of the match, you did not."

"It is not my place to approve or disapprove of the conduct of two Jedi Masters."

Yoda leaned forward and smiled, nodding. "Nonetheless, approve, you did not."

"I was more concerned about the techniques that Master Windu was employing during the fight, Master Yoda."

Yoda furrowed his brow in confusion. "His techniques? His skills with a lightsaber, rivaled only by you, they are. Why concern you, do they?"

"Master Yoda!" Dooku straightened, his eyes wide. "Surely you realize that he is developing his own lightsaber style!"

Yoda's confusion grew. "Of course. Working to improve Form Seven fighting, he has been. Developed Vaapad from it, he has." Yoda ran a hand over his balding head. "Understand your concerns, I do not."

Dooku frowned. He paused, seeming to consider his words. "My concern is that throughout the fight, he appeared to…enjoy himself. And…he seemed to be sinking toward the dark side."

Yoda nodded in understanding. Of course Dooku would be concerned about the way Mace fought. If Yoda had taught his padawan anything, it was that the dark side was to be avoided at all costs. For Dooku, dancing along the edge of the dark side was something Yoda had actively discouraged.

But Mace was different. While others tended to focus on Mace's ability to see shatterpoints, Yoda knew that was not his _true_ gift. Mace's talent was his remarkable capacity to descend to the edge of the darkness without ever crossing it.

"Fear for Mace, you need not."

Dooku raised both of his eyebrows. He stared at Yoda for a long time, silent.

"I don't suppose you would allow for the possibility that your friendship with Master Windu might be blinding you to the danger he poses to himself, would you?"

Yoda paused to consider it. "Meditate on it, I will."

Dooku opened his mouth, as if to respond, then seemed to think better of it and nodded instead.

"That is all anyone can ask, Master," he said. He stood and left Yoda's chambers without another word.

Yoda stared at the door.

He had just started to close his eyes when his comm link beeped. Yoda pulled out the tiny device and activated it.

"Yes?"

The voice that resonated in the room was full of mischief. _"Care for a rematch?"_

Yoda grinned.


	25. Epilogue 3, Phantoms

_**Epilogue…**_

**Phantoms...**

"Trust your Master, you should, Obi-Wan." Yoda poked the padawan learner in the shin with the end of his gimer stick. "A wise Jedi Master, Qui-Gon is. Headstrong and defiant, but wise nonetheless. Learn much from him, you could."

"But he never listens to me!"

"Enough, Obi-Wan!" Yoda's voice sounded harsher than he intended, and he turned and smiled. "Persistent, you are. A great strength, that can be. But patience, you must learn as well, if a Jedi Knight, you wish to become."

"Yes, Master Yoda." Obi-Wan bowed respectfully.

Yoda nodded and continued to hobble down the hallway, Obi-Wan following quietly beside him. When they approached Yoda's quarters, where he and Obi-Wan would part ways, Obi-Wan cleared his throat discreetly.

Yoda arched a brow. "Something concerns you, young Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan swallowed visibly. Then, seeming to realize that indecisiveness was not a positive characteristic in a Jedi, he lifted his chin.

"I am concerned about Master Qui-Gon."

Yoda stopped and looked up at Obi-Wan Kenobi. The boy was a cool, placid lake in the Force. Unlike his peers, the padawan lacked the roiling thunderheads of conflict that plagued other budding youths. The only sign of tension in the young man was the barely perceptible tremor in his voice. Having known the boy all his life, Yoda knew that this slight timbre signified an immense revelation for Obi-Wan.

Yoda faced Obi-Wan and placed his hands atop his gimer stick. "Your concern, share," he said simply.

Obi-Wan nodded. "I've been having these dreams.…"

Yoda waited.

Obi-Wan stared at Yoda for a long while, as if choosing his words carefully. "In them, I'm cradling his head in my lap, and he's.…dying."

Furrowing his brow, Yoda closed his eyes and breathed in the currents of the Force. Images flashed before his eyes, and he sank deeper into himself. Qui-Gon lay on a cold floor, the light in his eyes fading. The image began to fade. The more Yoda tried to resolve the image, to try and grasp at the details, the more quickly the vision dissipated.

_Cold._

A dark cloud wrapped itself around the image….

Yoda opened his eyes wide.

"Did you see it, Master Yoda?"

Yoda stared at the top of his gimer stick, noticing that the nails on his fingers had gouged the twist of wood in his hands.

"Master Yoda? Are you all right?"

Yoda swallowed.

"Master Qui-Gon would tell me that they're just dreams," Obi-Wan continued, "that they pass in time. I just can't help thinking that I'm seeing…the future."

Yoda looked up, his face stern. "Mindful of the future, you _should_ be, Obi-Wan." He looked back to his weathered hands, his throat tight. "But always in motion, the future is. Careful, you must be, that in your hopes to prevent what you dread, become of the cause of it, you do not."

Obi-Wan pulled his eyebrows together and squinted in obvious confusion.

Yoda turned without another word and entered his quarters. When the door slid shut behind him, he fell hard against it, panting.

* * *

"Qui-Gon and his padawan had some difficulty escaping the Trade Federation blockade and have suffered significant damage to their hyperdrive generator. The Queen is with them."

Yoda heard Mace slide onto the hassock next to him, but did not open his eyes. He continued to reach out into the Force, searching for the elusive dark threads that he had sensed.

"They are going to Tatooine to attempt repairs."

Yoda opened his eyes with a start. "Tatooine, you say?" He glanced around for a glass of water to soothe his suddenly dry throat.

Mace did not seem to notice. "I hadn't heard of it either, until now. It's a remote desert planet on the Outer Rim. Apparently it was uninhabited until about two hundred years ago or so, when the Hutts decided it was an ideal location to establish a new base of operations outside of normal Hutt space."

"Tatooine…." Yoda whispered. His gaze settled on an empty glass resting on a countertop several meters away. Yoda frowned. Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes again. "When return to Coruscant, Qui-Gon does, assemble the Council, we should. Sense, I do, that much to report, he will have."

"Understood." Mace stood and left.

* * *

"He was trained in the Jedi arts. My only conclusion can be that he was a Sith Lord."

Yoda clenched his jaw and glanced about the room.

"Impossible," Ki-Adi-Mundi replied in his binary way. "The Sith have been extinct for a millennium."

Mace joined in. "I…do not believe the Sith could have returned without us knowing."

Every Council member turned to Yoda, as if seeking confirmation. Yoda glanced from one to another, before settling his gaze on Mace Windu. "Ah, hard to see, the dark side is."

Mace knitted his brows before returning his attention to Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan. "We will use all our resources to unravel this mystery. We _will_ discover the identity of your attacker." Mace threw Yoda a sidelong glance. "May the Force be with you."

Obi-Wan turned to leave immediately at the obvious dismissal, but Qui-Gon remained rooted to his position. The other Council members' stares flitted amongst each other as an uncomfortable silence descended on the room.

Yoda extended a finger. "Master Qui-Gon, more to say, have you?"

"With your permission, my Master." Qui-Gon stared directly at Yoda intently. "I have discovered a vergence in the Force."

Yoda noticed the furtive stares of the other Jedi Masters, but ignored them. "A vergence, you say?"

"Located around…a person?" Mace leaned forward slightly, his gaze focused firmly on Qui-Gon.

"A boy," Qui-Gon replied matter-of-factly. "His cells have the highest midi-chlorian count I have ever seen in a life form. It is possible that he was conceived by the midi-chlorians."

When Mace spoke again, the words were drowned out by the sudden pounding in Yoda's ears.

Qui-Gon's stare dashed about the chamber. "I don't presume to—"

"But you do!" Yoda interrupted, pointing a finger at the Jedi Master who stood at the center of the chamber. "Revealed, your opinion is."

Qui-Gon lifted his chin. "I request the boy be tested, Master."

Yoda lifted his right eyebrow and leaned forward. "Oh? Trained as a Jedi, you request for him, hmmm?"

"Finding him was the will of the Force. I have no doubt of that."

Yoda leaned back in his chair. Staring hard at Mace, Yoda contemplated the news. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

_Cold._

Yoda drew the corners of his mouth downward, but said nothing.

Mace Windu sighed. "Bring him before us, then."

When Qui-Gon left the chambers, Yoda beckoned to Mace. His friend leaned forward to place his ear near Yoda's mouth.

"Discuss this alone, we should."

Mace nodded silently and dismissed the Council.

* * *

"A ship…a cup…."

Yoda stared intently at the boy in the Force. Fear rolled off the youngling in waves.

Cold waves.

"A ship…a speeder."

Mace lowered the data pad in his hand and looked to Yoda.

"How feel you?" Yoda asked.

"Cold, sir," the child responded honestly. For someone who had never been trained to control his emotions, the youngling was demonstrating remarkable skill at it. Despite this, the frozen dread that gripped the boy was palpable in the Force. It was a dread that felt all too familiar.

"Afraid, are you?"

"No, sir."

Yoda shook his head. "See through you, we can."

"Be mindful of your feelings," Mace interjected. Yoda looked sidelong at Mace, knowing full well that the words would mean nothing to the child. He stared around the room, realizing just how alien the boy's impression in the Force must seem to the other Jedi gathered there.

"Your thoughts dwell on your mother," Ki-Adi-Mundi offered. It was a natural thing for a Jedi to do, hoping that by revealing the source of the fear, the boy would confront it and release it. Yoda watched the boy cringe in the Force at the mention of his mother and frowned.

"I miss her," the youngling said simply.

Yoda nodded. But that was not the heart of the child's dread. "Hmmm…afraid to lose her, I think, hmmm?"

A flash of anger shone in the boy's eyes. "What has that got to do with anything?"

Yoda's eyes widened. He could feel the confusion among the others. None of them understood the boy; none of them knew what to say.

None of them knew fear.

"Everything," Yoda cried. "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

The other Jedi nodded, but Yoda knew that only the boy had any real hope of grasping the lesson. He stared intently at the youngling, gauging his reaction. Slowly the tendrils of dread receded into the boy, where he clasped them down tightly.

Yoda swallowed and leaned backward into his chair, chancing fleeting looks at the other Jedi Masters. All of their attention was directed at the boy.

"I sense much fear in you," Yoda sighed.

* * *

Dissonance.

Council members stood and paced in front of their chairs. Wise and learned scholars of the Force raised their voices to be heard above the din, gesticulating animatedly. As Yoda surveyed the chamber silently, it became clear that there were two distinct points of view being fought for—two camps within the Jedi Council.

The younger Council members—Depa Billaba, Eeth Koth, Adi Gallia, Even Piell, and Plo Koon—were arguing vehemently that Anakin Skywalker should be trained as a padawan. The specifics of their positions varied to some degree, which served only to add to the discord in the spacious room, but they all wanted to train the child.

"He _is_ the Chosen One," Master Billaba announced loudly. "Surely you all see this. The Force wraps itself around him like a mother swaddles a newborn. We cannot abandon him."

"Yes!" Adi Gallia joined in. "He would be a great asset to us. We would be foolish not to train him."

"The boy _does_ have an unprecedented midi-chlorian count," Ki-Adi-Mundi offered. He had remained squarely in the center of the dispute, arguing for and against both sides as he clearly tried to select a position. "But he also has an unusually strong attachment to his mother."

"Ki!" yelled Eeth Koth. "There is nothing unusual about a child's attachment to his mother!"

The older members, who remained seated for the most part, passed fleeting looks amongst themselves.

"There is for a Jedi," countered Opo Rancisis, his weathered voice raspy but firm. "I do not believe it would be reasonable for us to expect that this boy could ever learn to release this attachment." He looked to Yoda. "As much as the Force cradles this boy, so does the fear that Master Yoda mentioned ensconce him. It would be a mistake to train him."

"The boy is dangerous," Mace said aloud. The room quieted immediately. He leaned forward. "You don't need any special gifts from the Force to recognize that his mother is the boy's shatterpoint. Qui-Gon's choice to separate them was a mistake, and it is only a matter of time before the boy decides he should go back to free his mother." He looked around the room, settling his gaze on each of the Masters before moving on to the next. "Now consider how much damage a trained Jedi with Skywalker's potential could do in a quest to save his mother."

Depa Billaba stared at Mace for a long moment, and then fell into her seat.

Even Piell placed a finger to his chin, obviously considering Mace's words. "If the attachment to his mother is as strong as we believe, consider how much damage an _untrained_ Force adept with Skywalker's potential could do."

"He is too old," Yaddle replied. "He will not let go of his attachments. What's more, I think that he will only develop new ones. I can already sense an abiding attachment to Master Qui-Gon Jinn."

"Then he needs guidance!" Even Piell responded. "We must guide him through these attachments. We can only accomplish that by training him."

The chamber erupted.

"Dangerous…"

"…guidance."

"Irresponsible…"

Yoda's mind swirled. Closing his eyes, he sank into the Force, pulling the image of Anakin Skywalker to the forefront of his mind. Fleeting visions appeared and vanished in a maelstrom of imagery. Yoda tried to discern some pattern, but none emerged. Breathing even more deeply, Yoda dove farther into the currents of the Force.

There.

A shadow.

It followed the various pathways the boy's life would take. The kaleidoscope of possible futures halted in a single office that Yoda did not recognize. Mace Windu stood above the Shadow, his eyes ablaze. The boy watched the Jedi Master intently, but did nothing.

The image vanished.

When Yoda opened his eyes, he felt a surge of pain in his hands as his nails dug deeply into his palms.

The other Masters were staring at him.

"Master Yoda?" Mace whispered, his face full of concern.

Yoda waved his hand before him dismissively, then locked his gaze on Even Piell, the Jedi Master who seemed to lead the group most in favor of training the boy.

"He is too old," Yoda said emphatically. "Train him, we will not."

The other Jedi Masters glanced at one another uncomfortably. Although it was true that the Head of the Council could be overridden, it had never been done in any of the gathered Masters' memories. While it was clear that consensus had not been achieved, Yoda's tone brooked no further discussion.

Mace's gaze lingered on Yoda for a long moment. Then he leaned back in his chair and brought his steepled fingers to his chin.

"Very well," Mace announced.

* * *

"You are certain about this, Yoda?" Mace asked when they were finally alone.

"Yes, my friend," Yoda replied. "Train the boy, we should not. Focus our attention on the Sith, we should."

"Then you believe that it _was_ a Sith that Qui-Gon encountered?"

Yoda nodded.

"But it makes no sense! They were wiped out a millennia ago."

"Presume too much, you do," Yoda answered. "Trust me, you should, that returned, the Sith have. Find them and discover their aims, our primary mission should be."

"It will be difficult to continue to hold the rest of the Council at bay with this."

"Trust in our judgment, they do."

* * *

"He _is_ the Chosen One! You _must_ see it!" Qui-Gon pleaded. Several Jedi Masters shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Mmmm…clouded, this boy's future is," Yoda replied.

Qui-Gon's stared at Yoda, incredulous. Yoda sensed the defiance surge in the rebellious Jedi Master. Yoda sighed inwardly.

"I will train him then," Qui-Gon announced. "I take Anakin Skywalker as my Padawan learner."

Obi-Wan glared at his Master.

Yoda's eyes widened. This was not a tack he had expected Qui-Gon to take. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. He had not considered the possibility that Qui-Gon might choose to train the child himself, and it was now clear that he was forcing the Order to either accept the boy or lose yet another Jedi Master. Yoda frowned.

"An apprentice, you have, Qui-Gon. Impossible to take a second." Yoda sighed inwardly, sensing that Qui-Gon would not be dissuaded by this.

"The Code forbids it," Mace agreed.

"Obi-Wan is ready," Qui-Gon replied simply.

"I _am_ ready to face the trials," Kenobi offered quickly.

"Our own counsel, we will keep, on who is ready," Yoda answered.

"He is headstrong," Qui-Gon glanced at the young padawan at his side, "and has much to learn of the Living Force, but he is capable. There is little more he can learn from me." The Master and padawan stared at each other.

Quiet tension filled the room. "Young Skywalker's fate will be decided later," Yoda announced.

"Now is not the time for this," Mace interjected. "The Senate is voting in a new Supreme Chancellor, and Queen Amidala is returning home, which will put pressure on the Federation and could widen the confrontation."

"And draw out the Queen's attacker," said Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"Go with the Queen to Naboo and discover the identity of this dark warrior," Mace ordered. "This is the clue we need to unravel the mystery of the Sith."

Several Jedi Masters threw confused glances in Mace's direction. Yoda knew they were surprised by his unexplained acceptance of the existence of the Sith. He drew his lips tight and raised his hand.

"May the Force be with you," he said, dismissing the session.

"Yoda, you have to accept the decision of the Council, even if you don't agree with it!"

Yoda fumed. "Have to do nothing, but outlive you all, I do!"

Mace chuckled. "I understand your frustration, but it _was_ your suggestion to put it to a vote. Now you'll just have to live with the consequences."

Yoda turned and stared at Mace, a sadness so pervasive gripping his chest, he found it almost impossible to breathe. His ears drooped so that the tips hovered just above his slumped shoulders. "No, Mace. Live with the consequences, we all will."

* * *

"Confer on you the level of Jedi Knight, the Council does," Yoda hobbled around the massive chamber, his gimer stick thudding against the floor with each step. He stopped and glared at Obi-Wan. "But agree with your taking this boy as your Padawan learner…I do not."

"Qui-Gon believed in him," Obi-Wan insisted.

Yoda sighed. "The Chosen One, the boy may be. Nevertheless, great danger I fear in his training."

"Master Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word. I _will_ train Anakin."

Yoda grunted.

"Without the approval of the Council, if I must," Obi-Wan continued.

Yoda stared away from the new Jedi Knight. "Qui-Gon's defiance, I sense in you. Need that, you do not." Yoda bowed his head and sighed. "Agree with you, the Council does. Your apprentice, Skywalker will be."

* * *

Flames licked the sky, rising and falling in the darkness and setting the small gathering aglow. Yoda stared into the pyre, watching tiny glowing embers dance about in the fire. Deeper into the blaze, he watched the consumption of Qui-Gon Jinn's body in the Great Burning.

Yoda felt Mace shift beside him. His friend stared into the flames, his face unreadable. Yoda looked down at Mace's hands, noting that they were balled into fists so tight that his dark skin paled across the ridges of his knuckles. The relaxation took longer than Yoda had expected but, in the end, Mace opened his hands, interlocking his fingers in front of him, and rested them gently on his lap.

"There is no doubt, the mysterious warrior was a Sith," Mace said simply as he stared ahead.

Yoda regarded Mace carefully. The Sith were no longer in hiding, so his knowledge of them had to be brought to bear in earnest.

"Mmmmm...always two there are," he whispered, scrutinizing Mace's face as he spoke. "No more, no less. A Master and an apprentice."

Mace glanced sidelong at Yoda, an unspoken question in his eyes.

Yoda waited.

Mace seemed to resolve the question in his own mind quickly, because he looked away and stared once again at the pyre. "But which was destroyed," he asked the rising smoke, "the Master or the apprentice?"

Yoda did not need to seek the guidance of the Force for the answer. He knew that the Master would only reveal himself at a time of his choosing. It was entirely possible that the one who was destroyed was no more than an apprentice in waiting, as the Iktotchi had been.

Yoda frowned.

Mace tilted his head, as if expecting an answer.

"Revealed the Sith will be," Yoda replied, "when already in motion, their plan is. Patience, we must have, until the muddy waters clear."


	26. Epilogue 4, The Face of the Dark Side

_**Epilogue…**_

**The Face of the Dark Side...**

"Reach out," Yoda called to the group of younglings. Several of them moved their lightsabers in haphazard ways, trying desperately to keep up with the movement of the hover droids. "Sense the Force around you."

A droid dashed in front of Liam, one of the older but less gifted of the children. He tilted his head as if listening to the hum of the droid's movement, and then moved his lightsaber to center on where he clearly expected the floating machine to be. It was not. A gentle burst of energy struck the boy on his hand. Impressively, he did not squirm in response, despite that being the fourth time he had been hit during the session.

Yoda shook his head. "Use your feelings, you must."

The boy seemed to recognize right away that Yoda's attention was focused on him, because he quickly nodded in acknowledgement and did a better job of pretending he was not listening to the device's movements with his ears.

Yoda smiled inwardly. Every padawan class had at least one youngling who did his level best to circumvent the blast shields that were lowered over the face in order to obscure the eyes and compel the student to rely on the Force. Yoda chuckled as he remembered how a young Qui-Gon Jinn had snuck into the crèche training area the night before to drill a hole in his helmet's solid face plate for him to see through. The boy's embarrassment at having been caught in the act was enough to spur him to reach his potential.

Yoda watched the children continue to struggle with the exercise, smiling. On the edges of his consciousnesses, he sensed the approach of the young Jedi Master. From the corner of his eye, a flash of brown Jedi robes confirmed Obi-Wan's presence. He tapped his gimer stick gently on the marble floor to get the children's attention.

"Younglings! Younglings!" he announced. "A visitor, we have."

The class quickly lifted their face plates and looked up at Obi-Wan respectfully as they deactivated their lightsabers. "Hello, Master Obi-Wan," they said in unison.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Hello," he responded, nodding briefly. He quickly turned to Yoda. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Master."

Yoda could sense the puzzlement and turmoil that swirled about Obi-Wan, though the young Jedi Master was doing an excellent job of keeping it well hidden. "What help can I be, Obi-Wan, hmmm?"

"I'm looking for a planet described to me by an old friend. I trust him, but the systems don't show in the archive maps."

Glancing over at the padawans, Yoda raised his eyebrow and the corner of his mouth. "Mmmm….lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan has." His smile widened as the younglings began to giggle. "How embarrassing…how embarrassing." The giggles turned to laughter, and Yoda grinned in earnest when he saw even Obi-Wan relax into a genuine smile.

Glancing about the room, Yoda settled his gaze on Liam, who was doing his best to not be seen. "Liam, the shades," Yoda ordered, smiling as the boy's face flushed bright red. He turned to the rest of the class. "Gather around the map reader. Clear your minds…and find Obi-Wan's wayward planet, we will."

The room darkened, and a small sphere that sat on a thin, cylindrical console came to life. Instantly the space was filled with a hologram of the entire galaxy. Bright orbs of various sizes and colors representing stars, systems, and planets lit the chamber.

Immediately Obi-Wan walked through the hologram and went straight to a darkened area in the Outer Rim, just south of the Rishi Maze. "It ought to be…" he pointed at empty space, "…here. But it isn't. Gravity is pulling all the stars in the area towards this spot."

Yoda pursed his lips, contemplating the implications of the only likely answer he could come up with. He glanced at the students, wondering whether any of them would come to the same conclusion he had.

"Hmm….gravity's silhouette remains…but the stars and all its planets, disappeared they have. How can this be?" Yoda looked about the room, observing the children. Some squirmed and avoided his gaze. Others seemed to be deep in concentration. "A thought?" he prodded. The lingering silence in the room grew. "Anyone?"

"Master?" Yoda turned and caught Liam's uncertain stare. He could sense that the boy dreaded failing this impromptu test as he had been failing at the exercise with the training droid. Yoda nodded his head in acknowledgement, which seemed to be enough to prompt the child to proffer his thought. Liam lifted his chin, and spoke with a certainty that he did not normally display. "Because someone erased it from the archive memory."

In an instant, the boy seemed remarkably familiar. The image of a small migru boy on a planet he no longer knew came as a flood to Yoda's mind. For a long moment Yoda focused on the vision of the youngling who had shone so brightly in the Force. He glanced at Liam, who was desperately trying to hide his eagerness for approval from his Master.

Yoda chuckled.

"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is." Yoda laughed quietly again before directing his gaze to Obi-Wan. "The padawan is right!" He glanced at the boy, who beamed proudly. "Go to the center of gravity's pull, and find your planet, you will."

Obi-Wan nodded. Yoda turned to put some distance between himself and the children. When Obi-Wan pulled the map reader orb to his hand, Liam proudly opened the shades to let light back into the room without prompting. Yoda made a note to himself to assure the boy that he was doing well.

When they were out of earshot of the younglings, Yoda redirected his attention to Obi-Wan. "Hmmm….the data must have been erased."

Obi-Wan's look of confusion was mirrored in the Force. "But Master Yoda, who could empty information from the archives? That's impossible, isn't it?"

_No…not impossible,_ Yoda thought as the memory of his own lost planet pounded against his ribs. Yaddle had managed to do it with very little trouble. Erasing all mention of a planet was no small thing. The circumstances under which Yoda had chosen to do so had cost him dearly….

"Mmm….dangerous and disturbing, this puzzle is," Yoda replied. "Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who and why? Harder to answer." Yoda looked up at Obi-Wan. "Meditate on this, I will."

* * *

The cloth coverings on the hassock were plush beneath Yoda's crossed legs. The waning sunlight filtering through the closed shades diffused into the artificial illumination of the bright room. Immense care had been taken in the design of the quiet chamber to create a soothing place for the greatest of the Jedi Masters to meditate in peace. From the curvature of the walls to the muted colors of marble floors to the positioning of the hassocks in the chamber, everything was crafted to set anyone in the room completely at rest.

Yoda noticed none of it.

For more than eight hundred years he had visited chambers much like this one to swim in the powerful currents of the Force. In those rooms throughout the centuries he had learned to quiet his mind and to listen to the whisperings that only quiet meditation could bring. He had not always understood. There were times when he would have to meditate for days just to begin to come to any new understanding. But it had always been rejuvenating—and effortless. Meditation had only required quiet surrender of his will to the Force.

Until now.

For almost two decades, the Force had been silent. Shrouded in a cold blanket of darkness that only he among the Jedi recognized, the will of the Force had become a mystery that was almost impossible to solve. Where centuries before, the Council could come to agreement without uttering a single word, the Jedi Order was now full of conflict and uncertainty. Yoda could pierce the dark clouds, but it was not without intense effort. Meditation no longer sustained him.

Diving deeper into the Force, Yoda focused his will on the blackness that obscured the path he wanted to follow. The currents of the Force flowed from the present to the future and into the past. Only around the immediate present was the murkiness absent. Plummeting into the past, Yoda quickly found the tendril connecting the Jedi Archives to the erased data. Concentrating on that wispy strand, he plunged after it.

The cold void moved in response to try and block his progress, but Yoda waved it away. There was something significant about the vibration in this thread. It was strong. It belonged to a Jedi. It felt familiar...

The Force exploded.

_Anakin! Anakin! Noooo!  
_  
Spinning helplessly, Yoda lost his grip on the filament he had been following. He drew a deep breath and tried to regain his bearings. He looked around the landscape of the Force and gasped. The normally blissful waters of the Force were twisting and roiling as if caught in a hurricane. Another fierce detonation pounded against Yoda's mental shields.

And then he knew.

Then he saw.

His heart crashed hard against his breastbone.

The azure blade moved with swift vengeance.

Rage poured forth from Anakin Skywalker and emptied out into the Tatooine desert night. Masked marauders fell. And the rage grew. A crimson tempest billowed about the padawan as he hacked and slashed through the throng of terrified villagers. Their fear fed his fury. Their terror made him strong.

Yoda's chest felt as if it would shatter as his heart pounded in tune with the boy's…

His breath grew ragged…

His throat closed…

His chest tightened…

Deep within the abyss of rage, something far more powerful bellowed from the boy—grief. Palpable anguish howled into the Force—sorrow so intense that Yoda could no longer distinguish the boy's heartache from his own.

_They killed my mother!_

_They killed Migruna!_

_They're animals! I'll slaughter them like animals!_

A soothing presence alighted beside him. How had it arrived on Tatooine? No…not Tatooine….

Yoda opened his eyes. He turned his head slowly and tried to focus on the figure to his right.

Mace Windu sat across from him, his normally implacable face wrought with concern. "What is it?" he asked.

Unshed tears stung his eyes as Yoda searched for the words. "Pain…suffering. Death, I feel." Gasping, he tightened his fists. "Something terrible has happened. Young Skywalker is in pain….terrible pain."

Mace leaned forward. "Shall we go to him?"

The rage receded….

Yoda stared at his hands.

The storm passed, leaving the shattered husk of Anakin Skywalker on a distant planet alone with his thoughts.

Yoda had been alone.

He turned away and wiped a stray tear that had chosen that moment to fall from his face. He stared at the far wall. The Jedi would never understand the boy's rage. They would never appreciate his loss. They would never comprehend his grief.

His connection to the boy began to fade as the Light descended on Anakin and wrapped around him like a mother nurturing a child with a wounded knee.

The Light would save him.

Time.

Anakin Skywalker needed time.

To heal….

"Yoda?"

Yoda glanced over his shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

The head of the Jedi Order stared unseeingly at the blinds. No. But they—both he and the young Skywalker–would be all right. "Speak to Skywalker, I will, when the time is right." His voice sounded stronger than he felt. "When ready he is, help him, I will."

* * *

The ground reverberated beneath his feet as yet another explosion rocked the battlefield. The putrid smell of charred flesh and burnt ozone assaulted his nose as dust and wind crashed against his face. Yoda raised his arm to shield his eyes.

Red packets of particle energy shattered the mechanized monstrosities that fired upon the manufactured warriors led by Jedi Masters once committed to peace. How had this happened? How had the Order become so embroiled in so much senseless destruction and loss of life?

_Cold._

A black cloud in the Force rose from a distant hangar and blanketed the battlefield.

Two single points of light descended into the dark.

"Sir! The droid army is in full retreat!" a clone Commander reported sharply.

Yoda turned to him. "Well done, Commander. Bring me a ship."

* * *

His knee ached as he struggled into the hangar bay. Immediately his gaze settled on the two fallen Jedi—Master and padawan—in the far corner of the alcove. Both were severely wounded. Yoda stared at his former padawan and his breath caught in his throat.

The crimson cold of the Sith shone from his former student like a beacon. Dooku was no more. Whoever it was that stood at the console, it was not the boy Yoda once knew.

Dooku turned. "Master Yoda," he said appraisingly.

"Count Dooku," Yoda replied, resting his hands atop his gimer stick.

"You have interfered with our affairs for the last time."

Dooku raised his hand, ripping a large transformer from the wall with the Force, and sent it hurtling towards the closest thing he ever had to a father.

The stick fell to the ground as Yoda called on the Light, tossing the makeshift missile harmlessly to the side.

Apparently undeterred, Dooku tore another transformer free and heaved it across the room. Again, Yoda caught it and tossed it aside.

Dooku's eyes widened with obvious frustration, and he directed his attention to the ceiling above Yoda's head. The rock face rumbled under the assault and came asunder. Large shards of stone tumbled from above.

Raising his hands above his head, Yoda created a cushion with the Force, catching the debris and holding it steady before tossing it away.

He turned to the Sith, breathing heavily. "Powerful, you have become Dooku. The dark side, I sense in you."

The corner of Dooku's upper lip lifted in a sneer. "I have become more powerful than _any_ Jedi." He raised his hand, pointing it at Yoda. "Even you."

Lightning poured from Dooku's fingertips, but Yoda was ready. Catching the attack in his open palm, Yoda threw it against a wall.

Clearly surprised, Dooku's rage exploded from his hands with greater intensity. Yoda grasped the assault and channeled the energy through himself.

A single heartbeat.

"Much to learn, you still have."

Dooku's inscrutable mask returned. "It is obvious that this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of the Force…" The sound of the eruption of Dooku's fiery blade echoed in the chamber. "...but by our skills with a lightsaber." He raised the energized weapon to his face in the classic Makashi salute.

Yoda's lightsaber found his hand with a flick of the Force. A twitch of his thumb, and his emerald blade's song joined his opponent's.

In a single leap, they were on each other. Dooku's power in the Force had grown, and so had his adeptness with the blade. Yoda flipped high in the air, deflecting blow after blow.

As their blades locked, Yoda took measure of the man before him. Dooku was indeed powerful, but he would not prevail. Yoda made the message clear in a single hard push against the Sith's blade.

As more strikes swirled toward him, Yoda leaped ahead of every attack. A lesser Jedi would easily have fallen to Dooku's skill.

Yoda bounced off the side of Dooku's ship a fraction of a second before Dooku's blade struck. He used the wall he landed on to hurl himself at the Sith Lord. Their blades locked.

"Fought well you have," Yoda breathed, "my old padawan."

Dooku's eyes widened. "This is just the beginning!" Pulling one of his hands from the hilt of his weapon, he directed his attention to a large metal power conduit. The bottom of the tower crumpled under Dooku's assault in the Force and began to tip toward the prostrate Jedi.

His blade forgotten, Yoda centered himself in the Force and extended the tendrils of power to grasp the massive durasteel cylinder. In his peripheral awareness, he sensed Dooku fleeing. As he tossed the improvised weapon aside, Yoda sighed.

Dooku's ship was already getting underway. The sound of useless blaster fire from outside the hangar filled the air. A glance at his discarded gimer stick brought it flying to his hand. He directed his attention to the wounded Jedi.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, as always, glowed with the Light from within despite his obvious pain. Already he was centering himself and helping his padawan to his feet.

Anakin Skywalker seemed to focus on the searing agony, feeding on it instinctively. Yoda hobbled across the floor, determined to talk with the boy and root out the source of his palpable connection with the dark side.

Abruptly the fiery tornado that swirled around the padawan vanished, replaced by cool, harmonious, azure light. Yoda squinted in confusion.

A moment later, Padmé Amidala dashed by the Jedi Master and wrapped her arms around the wounded young man.

Realization dawned.

He caught Obi-Wan's concerned gaze as the boy's Master clearly had come to the same conclusion Yoda had—Anakin Skywalker was in love with the Senator from Naboo. But as Yoda quietly shook his head to silence Obi-Wan's intent to interrupt the embrace, he knew that the Jedi Master did not truly understand.

Skywalker _needed_ attachments.

When his mother died, Padmé Amidala had filled the void.

She was Skywalker's anchor.

She was his Migruna.

Nothing must ever happen to disrupt that connection.


	27. Epilogue 5, The One Point

**Author's Note:** Please forgive me this final opportunity to share my thoughts on this story with you.

This final vignette contains the scene that inspired the entire Face of the Dark Side trilogy that began with Fall of the Sith just over a year ago and will end (when I get to it) with Edge of the Darkness.

The story of Yoda's descent into the dark first emerged almost fully formed in my mind while reading this scene from Anakin's point of view in Stover's Revenge of the Sith novelization. Fall of the Sith was born from that single moment. I chose to write Fall of the Sith first in large part in response to a debate I was having with someone about the nature of the dark side and the Sith in particular. But Yoda's story always gnawed at me and I'm happy to have been able to share it with all of you and to have had you on this journey.

What follows below is my take on what I consider to be the first of two pivotal scenes in Revenge of the Sith (with a few artistic liberties). The title of this post refers to the second scene, which is the starting point of Fall of the Sith. In reverence to Matthew Stover and his magical way with words, I've elected to use much of the same dialogue he used in the novelization. The original scene can be found on pages 182-183 of the hardcover edition of the Revenge of the Sith novelization.

I would also like to thank **geo3** for allowing me to adopt her conceptualization of The One Point for use in this story and for being a sounding board in putting the finishing touches on these vignettes.

I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to my very special beta **GrandAdmiralV** who has helped me sharpen my figurative quill and, without whom, this story would have been a pale shadow of what you have experienced. Thank you!

Finally, I thank _you_, my very special readers. Your feedback has buoyed me in ways that I could never express and has made this journey one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had. The most enjoyable aspect of sharing our stories online is the interplay between the reader and the writer and I don't think a writer could possibly hope for better readers than you. Thank you!

And now, the final installment of Descent Into the Dark...

_**Epilogue…**_

**The One Point**

The waning sunlight provided by Coruscant's orbital mirrors glowing softly against the slits of the window shades did little to light the room. As Yoda stared about his spare quarters, he contemplated how closely the fading artificial light mirrored the slow diminishment of the Jedi Order in a galaxy increasingly overcome by the darkness of war.

But the war was merely the vehicle, he knew. The war was nothing more than a tool by the dark side to weaken the Jedi into a mere shadow of their former glory. Even now as he sat as comfortably as was possible in his stark home, relatively safe on the planet on which the foundations of the Republic had been born, a thousand Jedi led a million clone warriors in fierce battles across thousands of worlds.

Jedi warriors.

A mere two decades ago, the two words would never have appeared together so casually. But now the HoloNet was filled with stories of the heroic exploits of the Jedi warriors who fought so gallantly to protect the galaxy from the scourge of the CIS. And no other Jedi warrior was better known than Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear. Tales of his feats were rapidly becoming the stuff of legend. He and Obi-Wan represented the new face of the Jedi Order.

The galaxy had truly changed.

Yoda sighed. He stared into the increasing darkness of his room, contemplating the past two decades with growing sadness. For some, the transformation of the galaxy had seemed gradual. For some, the alteration had been subtle. For some, there had been no revolution.

Not for Yoda.

For the head of the Jedi Order, two decades was an infinitesimal passage of time. For him, the shift from an era of unsurpassed peace to one of cataclysmic wars had been dramatic and sudden. Looking back at the circumstances that had brought the galaxy into its present state, he could only conclude that events had been orchestrated with near-perfect precision, like pieces in the most elaborate game of dejarik ever devised. Now that all the players were set, Yoda sensed that his unnamed opponent was readying to strike—the endgame was near.

The powerful onslaught of the raging storm of darkness would culminate at the One Point.

For three hundred years since the Sith had tried to lay claim to his soul, Yoda had watched the progression of the Sith's plan without recognizing it for what it was—until now. His actions then had delayed the mutual annihilation of the Jedi and the Sith, but the Sith had remained active in their pursuit of the Jedi. The Sith's assault on the Order had begun with the first of the Lost Twenty, and had culminated with their seduction of Count Dooku. Yoda had prepared the Jedi as best he could to face the inevitable clash between Light and Dark.

As Yoda considered his lost Jedi comrades, one thing became abundantly clear to him—the Dark no longer wanted him.

The Dark wanted Anakin Skywalker.

The door chimed.

Yoda looked up from his reverie and felt the roiling thunderstorm that surrounded Skywalker crash against his shields. No doubt the young Jedi knight wanted advice that Yoda no longer knew how to give. Anakin Skywalker's destiny was outside of Yoda's reach.

"Come in, Anakin," Yoda called out with as warm smile as he could muster. "Come in."

As the doors slid apart, the young man strode in purposefully and immediately bowed. Yoda inclined his head and indicated a seat across from him for the Jedi to take. When Anakin opened his mouth to speak, Yoda raised his hand and silenced him.

"Meditate together, we shall, then discuss your nightmares, we will."

To his credit, Anakin only allowed the look of surprise to linger on his face briefly before nodding respectfully. The young Jedi closed his eyes and feigned what Yoda knew was his best attempt at a meditative pose. Yoda frowned.

It was not Anakin's brashness that was his greatest flaw, Yoda mused. So many of his fellow Jedi Masters believed that Skywalker was too bold, too sure of himself, and too convinced that anything was possible to ever truly grasp all the subtleties of the Force. While these traits were indeed present in the young man, they were hardly surprising and certainly not without merit. For Anakin Skywalker, all things _were_ possible. His power in the Force was undeniably formidable and virtually unstoppable. No…Anakin had every right to be as confident as he was.

Still other Jedi Masters believed that it was Anakin's incessant connection to unacknowledged attachments that could spell his eventual doom and take the Jedi Order into the murky depths of destruction with him. Mace Windu, in particular, held this point of view, though he mistakenly attributed this attachment to Skywalker's friendship with Palpatine. Again, that insight was not without merit.

Yoda sensed that Skywalker's greatest weakness was his inability to completely surrender his will to the Force. It was a flaw that Yoda once carried in his core as well. For Skywalker, the Force was a tool, not a guide. It was a mechanism by which he made the impossible seem mundane. It was the pathway to the salvation of those who depended on him—but never the pathway to saving himself.

Anakin Skywalker never considered the possibility that he, himself, might need saving.

And so, as the great Jedi warrior sat across from Yoda, his mind swirling and his will crashing against the currents of the Force, Yoda knew that Anakin needed to learn a lesson that words could never teach.

Anakin Skywalker needed to learn to accept.

Yoda sighed.

Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply, calling on the Light. The dark shroud that clouded the Force pulled away quickly, as darkness always receded before the presence of the Light.

With Skywalker so close to him, the Chosen One's image appeared in Yoda's mind in an instant. He could readily perceive the pathways of the Force flowing into the Jedi's past and—more importantly—into his future. Focusing on the myriad strands that passed through the young man and into the possibilities of what was to come, Yoda plunged through the Dark.

All around the young man, the battle between the Light and the Dark raged. The apparent stalemate in the war being fought across the galaxy was equally deadlocked within the young Jedi. The fear that ensconced Skywalker was being held at bay by his undying compassion and desire for good.

But just as the Clone Wars would have a single, irrevocable tipping point—a shatterpoint—that would give one side the advantage and bring an end to the war, so too would the war for Skywalker's soul. Yoda waited patiently within the waters of the Force, hoping to find the One Point.

The Force crystallized into an image of Palpatine's private office. Standing above an indiscernible shadow, Mace Windu stood triumphantly, his amethyst blade pointed at the Shadow with rage in his eyes. Skywalker was there as well, but the confusion and fear in the boy were at a fever pitch, freezing the young man into inaction.

Three masters of the Force stood in the massive room—a triumvirate of power around which the future of the Galaxy would be decided. The Force was a torrent of rage and a desire for vengeance flowing from Windu and the Shadow with equal potency. Skywalker stood between them, a volcano of fear ready to erupt.

_I NEED HIM!_

The One Point.

The image vanished.

Yoda opened his eyes and knew in an instant that Skywalker had not meditated at all. The Jedi's impatience poured from him in a deluge of fear that was only matched by a fierce determination to prevent that fear from being realized.

Yoda sighed.

The One Point could no longer be avoided. The particle and antiparticle had parted and their inevitable reengagement would occur in Palpatine's office on a night filled with lightning, fear…and rage.

He stared at the young warrior, knowing that his words would mean no more to Anakin Skywalker than they would have meant to Yoda so many years before. Yoda furrowed his brow. Perhaps if he could convince the Jedi to acknowledge his fears—to confront them in the open—Skywalker might be prepared to choose wisely when the time came.

Yoda drew his brows together. "Premonitions….premonitions...deep questions they are," he whispered into the silence. "Sense the future, once all Jedi could; now few alone have this skill. Visions…gifts from the Force, they are…and curses. Signposts and snares." He fixed his gaze firmly on Anakin. "These visions of yours…"

"They are of pain," Anakin replied. "Of suffering." The boy looked down and swallowed. He seemed to screw up his courage before looking directly into Yoda's eyes. "And death."

Yoda nodded. Skywalker was close to revealing his concerns. Yoda knew he could not push too hard. "In these troubled times, no surprise this is. Yourself you see?" Yoda lowered his head slightly but kept his gaze on Anakin's eyes, and then continued. "Or someone you know?"

Anakin kept his face neutral but said nothing.

"Someone close to you?" Yoda prompted gently.

"Yes," Anakin replied, and turned his eyes away from Yoda's stare.

It was clear that Skywalker wanted to keep his secret a little longer. Yoda frowned. How could they discuss the problem freely if Anakin refused to be open?

"The fear of loss is a path to the dark side, young one," Yoda said with as much compassion as he could muster.

"I won't let my visions come true, Master. I _won't_."

And there it was.

Yoda tried again. "Rejoice for those who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not." The moment the words had left his mouth, Yoda regretted them. As true as they were, they sounded hollow in the face of Skywalker's determination.

"Then why do we fight at all, Master? Why save _anybody_?"

"Speaking of _anybody_, we are not," Yoda replied sternly. "Speaking of you, and _your_ vision, and your _fear_, we are." He would not lie to the boy, Yoda decided. He would tell the truth, as hard as it would be for Anakin to hear. The lessons Yoda had learned were hard-won and painful and he owed it to the Jedi to share them.

"The shadow of greed, attachment is. What you fear to lose, train yourself to release. Let go of fear, and loss cannot harm you."

Anakin blinked.

Yoda stared at him, hopeful that Anakin would let him to explain. Yoda prepared himself to tell Anakin his story of love and loss; his fear and his rage. He took a deep breath and swallowed his pride and guilt to force himself to relay the truest danger of attachments and the fear of loss: that in fighting your fear, you risk losing your soul.

Skywalker fidgeted inside his robes.

"Anakin—"

"Thank you for your time, Master Yoda," Anakin interrupted, his face unreadable. "You've given me a lot to think about. Unfortunately I'm late for a briefing on the Outer Rim sieges with Master Kenobi."

Yoda sighed. "Please, Anakin, more to say, I have."

Anakin stood and moved to the door. "I'm sure you do, Master." His best efforts could not hide his growing irritation. "But as I said, I'm already late. I will come back and talk with you when the opportunity presents itself."

Yoda knew he could order Anakin to stay. He could make the boy sit down and listen. His hand reached up instinctively as if to do just that when Anakin glared down at him, his red-splotched eyes full of disdain. Yoda withdrew his hand as if stung.

Skywalker was no longer willing to listen.

Yoda sighed in resignation as he realized that Anakin had come to the conclusion that Yoda did not have the answers he sought. He stared into the troubled eyes of Anakin Skywalker. Darkness roiled about him. If Skywalker chose poorly, then the Jedi Order would likely fall. Yoda's chest tightened with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply into the Force.

There was always hope, Yoda reminded himself.

He let out a loud breath, holding firm to the knowledge that no matter how dark the night grew, the morning always came. All things die, and this had to be true of the Jedi Order as well. It was the way of things. The way of the Force.

But life springs from death.

The decay of the fallen tree provides nourishment for the growing seedling. This was _also_ the way of the Force. Patience, was required—patience and faith.

Yoda lowered his head. "See that you do, Anakin," he replied. "See that you do…"

The Chosen One turned and left without another word.

* * *

"Certain, you are?"

"Yes," Mace Windu replied from across the galaxy, blue scanning lasers giving him form in the hollowed out wroshyr tree in which Yoda stood on Kashyyyk. "He revealed himself to Skywalker just now."

Yoda furrowed his brow. "Where is Anakin now?"

"I've sent him to wait for us in the Council chambers," Mace replied, his face stern. "He's full of confusion and fear. I believe it is best to have him stay out of this."

Yoda nodded.

"Do I have your agreement then?" Mace pressed.

"Mace," Yoda whispered, "fully prepared for this fight, you are. A more powerful Jedi to face this Lord Sidious, there is not."

Mace screwed up his face. "Thank you, Master Yoda."

"But a battle with lightsabers alone, this will not be," Yoda continued as if Mace had not spoken. "Careful, you must be, that in facing the darkness, swallowed by it, you do not become."

Mace lifted his chin. "I know where the line between light and dark is, Yoda. I won't cross it."

"To the One Point, you go, Mace." Yoda lifted his eyes and stared intently at his closest friend. "Rest on your decisions, the fate of the Galaxy does. Act as a Jedi throughout this conflict, you must."

Mace grew silent and seemed to ponder Yoda's words. "I understand," Mace replied at length. "May the Force be with us all."

"May the Force be with _you_, my friend."

The blue tinged hologram evaporated and Yoda stared out at the vista of Kashyyyk as it was rocked by explosions and blaster fire. No longer the center of the battle between Light and Dark, Yoda took solace in the knowledge that he had done everything he could to prepare the Order for its greatest test. He could not see past the One Point, no matter how fiercely he had meditated on it.

He could only wait…

**--Fin--**


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